ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Climate Change

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact of climate change on UK agriculture.

Elliot Morley: The UK climate impacts programme is conducting ongoing work to provide scenarios to show how our climate might change and co-ordinating research on dealing with our future climate. This includes work on climate change impacts on the agriculture sector.
	Research suggests that climate change impacts do not appear to threaten the viability of the agriculture industry as a whole in the UK due to the adaptability of UK systems., However, individual agricultural businesses and land managers will need to be alive to the need to adapt.
	The UK national adaptation policy framework is currently being developed. It will help to provide a more strategic approach to adaptation, identifying key risks and opportunities common across a number of policy areas and to coordinate approaches where possible. The first phase of the framework will be structured on a sectoral basis, and these sectors will include agriculture, horticulture and forestry as well as water resources, biodiversity and nature conservation.
	The new UK climate change programme 2006 has also assessed the role of agriculture in addressing climate change and seeks to raise awareness of the issues across the sector and develop measures to allow the sector to play a full part in tackling climate change.
	We have an ongoing programme of research to provide a robust evidence base to support our policy development on climate change impacts and adaptation in agriculture. A project of particular relevance is CC0366: Publication of outputs arising from Defra research on impacts and adaptation in the agricultural sector", which can be found at: http://www2.defra.gov.uk/research/project_data/More.asp?l=CC0366&M=K WS&V=cc03&SUBMIT1=Se arch&SCOPE=0.
	Our report Climate change and agriculture in the United Kingdom" also provides information on the new climatic and market conditions that may be experienced and enables farmers to consider strategies that will maintain or enhance their ability to anticipate climate change in their decision-making and take steps to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The report can be found on Defra's website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/environ/climate/climatechange/index.htm.

Air Quality (Bexley)

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of air quality in the London borough of Bexley.

Ben Bradshaw: Local authorities have a duty under Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 to review and assess the current, and likely future, air quality in their areas. Where local authorities consider that one or more of the nationally prescribed air quality objectives for each of the seven pollutants is unlikely to be met by the relevant deadline, they must declare an air quality management area (AQMA), covering the area where the problem is expected. These local authorities must then take action, along with other agencies and organisations, to work towards meeting the air quality objectives. The Mayor has responsibility for ensuring the local air quality management regime is undertaken appropriately by London boroughs.
	Following the first round of reviews and assessments, the London borough of Bexley declared an air quality management area in respect of Particulate (PM10), in the Manor road area, in August 2001. In fulfilment of its obligations under Part IV of the Environmental Protection Act, Bexley carried out a further assessment of existing, and likely future, air quality within the AQMA in the borough, and submitted a report to my Department in May 2003 and the Mayor of London in March 2003. The report concluded that the air quality management area as declared was still justified.
	The council consulted my Department on its draft plan in July 2003, and the Mayor of London in June 2003. The Greater London Authority has asked Bexley to provide an update on its action plan.
	The last round of reviews and assessments started in 2003 and London boroughs had to submit their updating and screening assessments (USA) by December 2003. They were expected to submit either a detailed assessment, where further investigation was required, or a progress report by December 2004. The London borough of Bexley submitted its USA to my Department in September 2004, and the Mayor of London in October 2004. The conclusion was that further investigation (detailed assessment) was needed at Manor road in respect of the likely exceedences of nitrogen dioxide and PM10 objectives. The Department is still awaiting a report on its detailed assessment of air quality.
	The next round of review and assessments has now started and local authorities are asked to submit a new updating and screening assessment by the end of April 2006, which will be considered by my officials. My Department will be assessing the London borough of Bexley's report as part of this exercise.

Badger Body Snares

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  whether her Department has begun field trials of badger body snares.
	(2)  when her Department's study of badger body snares is scheduled to end; and when its conclusions will be made available to the public.

Ben Bradshaw: Field trials of badger body snares have not yet begun.
	If the body snares are found to be humane in pen trials currently being undertaken, a licence will be sought to conduct field trials to determine the effectiveness, utility, non-target risk and humaneness of the body snare under normal operating conditions.
	The pen trials are expected to finish by May this year and, subject to the results of those trials and the securing of an appropriate licence, field trials should be completed before the end of June. The results of the field trials will be made public, after peer review, shortly after.

Badger Body Snares

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what frequency of inspections will be studied in her Department's study of badger body snares;
	(2)  what behavioural and physical data will be collected in her Department's study of badger body snares.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department is currently undertaking an assessment of the humaneness, efficacy and non-target risks of a body snare specifically designed to restrain badgers.
	The trials are initially being undertaken in captivity—pen trials—under Home Office licence with continuous observation by researchers. This ensures that if any animal is injured during capture immediate assessment and, if necessary, intervention can occur. In the absence of such signs the animals are restrained for a maximum of eight hours. At the end of the restraint period the badgers are examined for injuries by a veterinary surgeon. They are then held for a further four days and re-examined by a veterinary surgeon for signs of any sub-dermal damage—necrosis—before release back to the wild. The available evidence is reviewed after each trial to determine whether further studies should proceed.
	The aim is to release all animals back to the wild unharmed within a maximum period of 10 days following initial capture. Advice from veterinary surgeons and badger experts is that removing the badger from its home territory for this length of time should not affect the social structure of the family group.
	If the humaneness of the body snare is found to be acceptable in these pen trials, then field trials will be conducted to confirm its humaneness and to assess effectiveness, utility and non-target risks. It is anticipated that body snares will be inspected approximately every four hours during such trials.

Bovine Tuberculosis

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what response her Department has had from veterinary surgeons on their willingness to undertake pre-movement checking of cattle for bovine TB.

Ben Bradshaw: An independent review of veterinary capacity and preparedness was carried out prior to the implementation of pre-movement testing in England. The review surveyed local veterinary inspectors' (LVI) in high incidence areas in England. The review found that most LVIs had a good general awareness of the new requirements and felt they would be able to respond to and meet the expected demand for testing. The full report can be found on the DEFRA website at: www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/tb/premovement/report.pdf

Bovine Tuberculosis

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the forecast annual cost is arising from the decision by her Department to pay for one pre-movement bovine tuberculosis test.

Ben Bradshaw: Based on 2005 monthly cattle movement data and assuming cattle are tested in groups of 20, the maximum cost to Government of paying for all pre-movement testing to the end of June is estimated at £714,000.
	However, as Government support is limited to one test per herd owner, and as the figure does not take account of herd owners who use their routine herd test, the actual costs to Government will be lower. These transitional support arrangements end on 30 June 2006.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Michael Jabez Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will put the evidence accumulated from Government sponsored cattle post-mortems in cases of suspected bovine tuberculosis in the public domain to facilitate the tracing of the source of the infection.

Ben Bradshaw: Each month Defra publishes provisional cumulative data on the total number of TB cases identified at slaughterhouses and reported to the State Veterinary Service (SVS), along with the number of slaughterhouse cases that have been confirmed by visible lesion or laboratory culture. The data form part of Defra's regular TB statistics report, which is available on the Defra website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/tb/stats/latest.htm.
	All slaughterhouse cases notified by the Meat Hygiene Service are subject to traceback investigations by the SVS, and have samples taken that are fast-tracked to the Veterinary Laboratories Agency for histology and culture. Where Mycobacterium bovis infection is confirmed, the molecular typing data derived from those tests are used by the SVS to identify the origin of the infection.
	A summary of the culture results from individual slaughterhouse cases identified in 2005 will be included in the Chief Veterinary Officer's annual report, which will be published later this year.

BSE/Scrapie

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cases of (a) BSE and (b) scrapie there were in 2005.

Ben Bradshaw: In 2005, there were 225 confirmed cases of BSE and 299 confirmed cases of scrapie for sheep and goats in the UK. The figure for confirmed scrapie cases includes 28 atypical results.

Cemetries

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what (a) regulatory and (b) statutory quality guidelines local authorities are required to comply with in their management of cemeteries and burial grounds relating to (i) avoidance of land pollution from decontaminated land and (ii) flooding of ground.

Elliot Morley: The principal means of control to protect the water environment are the Environment Agency's powers and duties under the Water Resources Act 1991, the Environment Act 1995 and the Groundwater Regulations 1998. The Environment Agency's booklet Assessing the Groundwater Pollution Potential of Cemetery Development" gives advice to operators on assessing the risk to groundwater from existing and planned cemeteries. The booklet also addresses such factors as the soil nature and type, and the depth to the water table.
	In the case of a new cemetery, or a change of use of an existing cemetery, planning permission would be required from the Local Planning Authority under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and the Planning and Compensation Act 1991. The Local Planning Authority would consult with the Environment Agency before giving permission and would use refusal refuse permission, or impose conditions in a Decision Notice, to control a cemetery development and ensure that human health and the environment are protected.
	There are no statutory water quality guidelines relating to burial grounds. A site specific approach would apply based on any risks to human health or the environment at any particular location. Good practice requires that cemeteries are, where possible, located in well drained areas with a reasonable depth of unsaturated ground between the base of the grave and the water table so that flooding of the ground should not normally be an issue.
	Where redevelopment is taking place on any land which may be affected by contamination due to the presence of substances in, on, or under the land, decontamination may be required. This should be carried out in line with the guidance in the publication Contaminated Land Report 11: Model procedures for the management of land contamination" (DEFRA and Environment Agency, 2004).

Cetaceans

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to meet (a) the European Commission, (b) France and (c) other EU member states regarding actions necessary to reduce cetacean by-catch.

Ben Bradshaw: The UK has always recognised that a solution to the problem of cetacean by-catch can be achieved only on an European scale, because of the nature of the fisheries.
	We have significantly raised the profile of cetacean deaths within the Commission, such that Commissioner Borg wrote to all Fisheries Ministers back in September 2005 on the subject of dolphin by-catch in fisheries and expressing his view on the importance of this issue. We will continue to build on this and take every opportunity to urge a European solution to this problem.

Chewing Gum

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the quantity of illegal littering of public areas by chewing gum.

Ben Bradshaw: The latest results from the Local Environmental Quality Survey of England showed that chewing gum staining affected 91 per cent. of town and city centres surveyed.

Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Minister of State will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 3 March 2006.

Ben Bradshaw: I apologise for the delay in replying to the hon. Member's letter. My officials are currently liaising with the Environment Agency in order to draft a response, which we will issue shortly.

Fisheries

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if she will make a statement on the bass management plan;
	(2)  whether it is her policy under the bass management plan to provide protection for the 2002 year class in the growing season commencing in April 2006;
	(3)  on what criteria she will base her decision as to whether to increase the minimum landing size for bass.

Ben Bradshaw: The bass management plan is a proposal for revised management measures for the species, compiled by the Bass Anglers Sportfishing Society and presented to DEFRA.
	DEFRA's consultation on measures to increase the number and size of bass available to commercial and recreational fishermen closed on 8 February 2006.
	The regulatory impact assessment (RIA) will set out the available evidence and our assessment of the costs and benefits of the proposed measures, on which my decision will be based. Once this analysis has been completed I will make an announcement on next steps, at which stage the RIA will also be published.
	Scientific advice suggests that the state of the stock and levels of exploitation are such that there is no pressing reason to introduce urgently measures to protect the 2002 year class in particular.

Fisheries

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will place in the Library a copy of the responses to her consultation on proposals to increase the minimum landing size for bass.

Ben Bradshaw: DEFRA's consultation on measures to increase the number and size of bass available to commercial and recreational fishermen closed on 8 February 2006.
	The letter accompanying the consultation documents outlined my intention to make publicly available a copy of the responses to the consultation, provided the respondent had not asked for their response to be treated confidentially. In line with normal practice a copy of the responses will be placed in DEFRA's information resource centre when our analysis is complete. A summary will be available on the DEFRA website.

Fisheries

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her definition of the local population of Western Sahara for the purposes of the EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement includes illegal Moroccan settlers.

Ben Bradshaw: Western Sahara is defined by the United Nations as a non-self governing territory. Morocco is the de facto administering power. For all purposes, including revenue from the EU/Morocco fisheries agreement, Morocco is obliged under international law to ensure that economic activities under their administration do not adversely affect the interests of the people of the Western Sahara.

Fisheries

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the views of the local Saharawi population on the EU-Morocco fisheries partnership agreement; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The Frente Polisario, recognised in United Nations resolutions as the representatives of the Saharawi people, have written to the Government setting out their opposition to the EU/Morocco fisheries partnership agreement. In deciding the UK's position on the agreement, we have taken their position into account. Morocco is obliged under international law to ensure that economic activities under their administration do not adversely affect the interests of the people of the Western Sahara.

Fly-tipping (Lancashire)

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many incidents of fly-tipping have (a) been reported and (b) led to prosecution in (i) Ribble Valley and (ii) Lancashire in each year since 1997.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 24 April 2006
	Defra has worked with the Environment Agency to establish Flycapture, the national database on fly-tipping incidents, which has been operational since April 2004. No national data were previously available on illegal waste disposal or fly-tipping. Flycapture collects data at local authority level only.
	The data are probably an underestimate and will increase as authorities get better at collecting and reporting the data.
	Ribble Valley borough council reported 506 incidents of fly-tipping between April 2004 and March 2005 (an average of 46 per month) and 490 between April 2005 and February 2006 (an average 44.5 per month). During the same time periods all Lancashire waste collection authorities reported 32,724 incidents (an average of 2,878.6 per month) and 40,705 incidents (an average of 3,728.2 per month) respectively.
	During the same time periods, the Environment Agency investigated three and one incidents respectively in Ribble Valley, and 157 and 46 respectively in Lancashire.
	Prosecution data are only available from April 2005 to February 2006. During this period no prosecutions were reported by Ribble Valley borough council or the Environment Agency. The local authorities of Lancashire took forward 79 prosecutions, the Environment Agency took forward no prosecutions within Lancashire.

Hazardous Waste

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Government's policy is on the EU Commission's plan to merge the Waste Framework Directive with the Hazardous Waste Directive.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government's views on the proposed revision of the Waste Framework Directive (WFD) were set out in an explanatory memorandum submitted to Parliament on 18 January 2006 and in a supplementary memorandum submitted on 5 April 2006. Paragraph 11 of the former confirms that the Government welcomes the simplification of EU legislation proposed in the repeal of the Waste Oils Directive and the repeal and integration of the Hazardous Waste Directive into the revised WFD.

Light Pollution

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether local authorities have a statutory obligation to deal with light pollution; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 amended section 79 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to introduce artificial light emitted from premises so as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance as capable of constituting a statutory nuisance. Local authorities have a statutory duty to check their areas periodically for existing and potential statutory nuisances from artificial light, and to take reasonably practicable steps to investigate complaints of nuisance from artificial light. If satisfied that a statutory nuisance exists or is about to occur or recur, the local authority must serve an abatement notice under section 80 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 requiring that the nuisance is ceased or abated within a specified timescale.
	It is an offence to breach or fail to comply with an abatement notice, which upon summary conviction carries a fine of up to £5,000 for domestic premises and £20,000 for industrial, trade and business premises.
	The statutory nuisance regime offers a legislative framework to address cases of artificial light nuisance emitted from one premises and affecting another in specific ways. It is not an appropriate tool with which to address light pollution per se. A statutory nuisance from artificial light may also be a source of light pollution. It does not follow that all light pollution constitutes a statutory nuisance.

Nappies

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the environmental impact of the use of (a) reusable and (b) disposable nappies; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: In May 2005, the Environment Agency published a report entitled A Life Cycle Assessment of disposable and reusable nappies in the UK". The report concluded that there was no significant difference between any of the environmental impacts of the disposable, home use reusable and commercial laundry systems that were assessed. None of the systems studied was more or less environmentally preferable.
	The Environment Agency has commissioned a modest amount of further work to test the validity of some of the assumptions on which these conclusions were based.

Noise Pollution

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Government is taking to decrease noise pollution in the UK.

Ben Bradshaw: Tackling noise is a key Government concern. Local authorities now have more power to deal with neighbourhood noise under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005.
	In order to provide a more strategic approach to the management of the noise environment, Defra is currently developing a Noise Strategy; the intention being to publish the Strategy by the end of 2007.
	The Environmental Noise Directive requires member states to produce strategic noise maps for roads, railways, airports and agglomerations by June 2007 and action plans to manage noise issues and effects by July 2008. Noise mapping in London has already been completed. Work is underway on other areas.
	The Department also sponsors Noise Action Week, run annually in May by the National Society for Clean Air, to raise awareness of noise issues and solutions through local authority engagement with their local communities.

Organic Products

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether it is Government policy that consumers buying organic products should be enabled to select UK-sourced organic products when these are available.

Ben Bradshaw: A key objective of the action plan to develop organic food and farming in England is for the UK produced share of the market for organic foods that can be grown here to increase to at least 70 per cent. similar to the level for conventional produce. Good progress is being made towards achieving this target.

Organic Products

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effect of a compulsory logo on all UK-sourced organic products sold in the UK on consumers who wish to buy products produced in the UK.

Ben Bradshaw: No such assessment has been made.

Organic Products

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effects of the current proposals from the European Commission to replace Council Regulation 2092/91 on Organic Production for the roles and responsibilities of member states in this issue.

Ben Bradshaw: Our view is that the European Commission should be assisted by a Regulatory Committee rather than a Management Committee as proposed in COM (2005) 671.

Organic Products

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her Department's policy is on revisions to Council Regulation 2092/91 on Organic Production in relation to organic farmers delivering positive environmental outcomes; and what representations she has received from (a) conservation organisations and (b) English Nature on achieving environmental outcomes in any revision of Council Regulation 2092/91 on Organic Production.

Ben Bradshaw: We have proposed that it should be an objective of the proposed regulation that it contributes to environmental sustainability. We do not have records of representations from specific conservation organisations, but comments from organic bodies referred to this issue.

Organic Products

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to consult with (a) the Organic Action Plan Group, (b) small and medium-sized organic businesses and (c) other interested parties before proposals to (i) amend or (ii) replace Council Regulation 2092/91 are taken forward by the European Commission.

Ben Bradshaw: The proposal is on the agenda for the meeting of the Action Plan Group on 27 April. The Advisory Committee on Organic Standards discussed the proposal at its meetings on 9 February and 30 March. Other stakeholders were consulted by letter in January and received reports on the negotiations on the proposal as they proceed.

Organic Products

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the European Commission's proposal to replace Council Regulation 2092/91.

Ben Bradshaw: Our initial assessment was set out in the Explanatory Memorandum submitted to the House on 19 January 2006.

Railways (Litter)

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what powers (a) local authorities and (b) parish and town councils have to compel the rail authorities to keep stations and tracks free of litter.

Ben Bradshaw: Under section 89 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, railway undertakers and operators have a duty to keep their relevant land" clear of litter and refuse. This includes station areas to which the public have access, tracks that are within 100 metres of platforms (provided that the public have access to the platforms) and tracks in urban areas. Where this duty is not complied with, local authorities may issue a litter abatement notice on the railway undertaker or operator, requiring the clearance of the litter and refuse and prohibiting further defacement of the land. A parish or community council can take action via the magistrates' court, seeking a litter abatement order to get the litter cleared.
	There is no duty on rail undertakers or operators to keep other track areas clean. However, where such land becomes defaced by litter and refuse and this is detrimental to the amenity of the area, local authorities can issue a litter clearing notice on the occupier or owner (if unoccupied), requiring the clearance of the litter and, if necessary, reasonable steps to be taken to prevent future defacement.
	It is an offence to fail to comply with a litter abatement notice, a litter abatement order or a litter clearing notice.

Railways (Litter)

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance she issues on whether the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 applies to railway stations and track.

Ben Bradshaw: DEFRA has issued detailed guidance on legislation dealing with litter and refuse in Part 4 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, as amended by the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005. This includes guidance on the extent to which railway stations, track and other areas of railway land are affected. The revised code of practice on litter and refuse provides practical guidance on the extent of the litter duty, and includes standards and practicability issues to assist rail undertakers and operators in managing litter and refuse on their land. Both the guidance and code of practice are available on DEFRA's website: http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/localenv/legislation/cnea/index.htm.

Recycling/Composting

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how she plans to prevent commercial waste from being transferred into domestic waste streams; and when she plans to set recycling targets for local authorities for commercial waste.

Ben Bradshaw: The waste duty of care is set out in section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and associated regulations. It applies to anyone who is the holder of controlled waste—which includes commercial, industrial and household waste.
	Persons concerned with controlled waste must ensure that the waste is managed properly, recovered or disposed of safely, does not cause harm to human health or pollution of the environment and is only transferred to someone who is authorised to receive it.
	Breach of the duty of care is an offence, with a penalty of up to £5,000 on summary conviction or an unlimited fine on conviction on indictment.
	We will shortly announce statutory targets for recycling household waste for 2007–08. For beyond 2008, we are undertaking a review of the recycling and composting targets as part of the review of the Government's Waste Strategy for England.
	Waste collection authorities have a duty under Section 45(1) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to arrange for the collection of commercial waste where requested to do so. We are consulting on whether local authorities should have a wider role with regards to commercial waste, including strategic planning for all waste and the provision of recycling services for business waste. In light of this we will be considering whether there is a need to place further requirements on local authorities, including setting local authority targets aimed at improving the management of commercial waste. The deadline for responses to the consultation is 9 May.

Recycling/Composting

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the provision and use of municipal domestic garden waste shredding services count towards best value performance indicators for recycling or composting.

Ben Bradshaw: The relevant best value performance indicators (BVPI) are 82 a & b. These measure, respectively, household waste sent by the authority for recycling, or composting or treatment by anaerobic digestion. Household garden waste that has not been home composted can count towards the indicators, provided it is collected from a source and processed or treated to a standard according to the appropriate guidance.
	The guidance for both indicators can be accessed via the ODPM's website at:
	http://www.odpm.gov.uk/pub/119/BestValuePerformancelndicators200506GuidanceDocumentAmended010405PDF6386Kb_id1136119.pdf (See P131–139).

Rural Payments Agency

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farms have received the correct payment in full from the Rural Payments Agency; and by what date all farmers will have received full payment.

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects the payments due to (a) Mr. Andrew Ramply and (b) other farmers who received their statement of entitlement for the single farm payment on 1 March to be validated.

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what proportion of entitlement statements for the single farm payment being sent to farmers were unvalidated; and what steps she is taking to ensure that these farmers receive their payments before the end of March;
	(2)  what plans she has to assist those farmers who will not receive single farm payments before 31 March;
	(3)  what estimate she has made of the number of farmers who will not have received their single farm payments by 31 March.

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farms have received the correct single farm payment in full from the Rural Payments Agency; and by which date she expects all farmers to have received full payment.

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects to complete the single farm payments for financial year 2005–06; and if she will make a statement.

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to improve the level of efficiency in processing single farm payment payments and receipts; and if she will make a statement.

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what percentage of eligible farmers in England had received their full entitlement to single farm payment as at 31 March 2006;
	(2)  how many eligible farmers in England are awaiting payment of outstanding single farm monies due to them.

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the progress towards making outstanding payments under the single payment scheme since 16 March; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: In total, 120,367 applications were received for the single payment scheme (SPS). By the end of Friday 21 April 51,003 claims (42.5 per cent.) had been paid.
	The remaining claims will be paid as soon as legally possible following the positive action set out in my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's written statement on 16 March 2006, Official Report, column 104WS, the response to the hon. Member for South-East Cambridgeshire (Mr. Paice) on 27 March 2006, Official Report, column 543), and the written statement on 19 April 2006, Official Report, column 13WS.

Waste

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations her Department has received on the definition of waste.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department has received a range of representations about the definition of waste and its interpretation. These representations are wide-ranging in nature and, as a consequence, it would not be possible to provide a comprehensive list without incurring disproportionate cost.
	A significant number of the representations have been made in the context of the Waste Incineration Directive coming fully into force on 28 December 2005 and have concerned issues such as the burning as fuel of (i) waste oil and (ii) tallow in compliance with the EU Animal By-Products Regulation. Summaries of our responses to these representations are available on the Department's website at http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airquality/lapc/aqnotes/pdf/aq04–06.pdf and http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/ppc/pdf/tallow-wid.pdf.

Waste

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers and landowners have obtained a waste management licence or pollution prevention and control permit for use on their holdings in advance of the implementation of new regulations on 15 May.

Ben Bradshaw: None. The effect of regulation 13 of the Waste Management (England and Wales) Regulations 2006 is to provide a 12-month transitional period from 15 May 2006 in which any farmer or landowner wishing to do so may apply for a waste management licence for the recovery or disposal of agricultural waste.
	Because of the engineering requirements and the costs involved, it is unlikely to be a viable option for most farmers and landowners to obtain a pollution and control permit to continue to operate an existing farm dump". However, the effect of regulation 9 of the 2006 regulations is to provide that, if the operator of a farm dump proposes to continue to use it for the disposal of agricultural waste on or after 15 May 2006, he or she must prepare and submit a conditioning plan to the Environment Agency by 15 June 2006.

Waste

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures she has put in place to assist rural constituencies in meeting waste management targets.

Ben Bradshaw: Defra recognise the challenge that all local authorities in England face in meeting their statutory performance standards in recycling and composting and their obligations under the landfill allowance trading scheme. Accordingly, we are providing increased levels of support and funding to all types of authorities.
	Rural areas benefit, in common with all other local authorities, from the wide range of support available through the Waste Implementation Programme and the Waste Resources Action Programme.
	We recognise that different types of local authorities face different challenges in waste management. It is for this reason that Defra-funded pilot projects aim to cover as diverse a range of local authorities as possible, including those in rural areas. Examples include Defra's household incentives pilot scheme, aimed at encouraging recycling, and trials of kerbside collection of waste batteries, funded by the Waste and Resources Action Programme.

WALES

Council Tax

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much the average council tax payment per dwelling for band D dwellings was, broken down by local authority in Wales in each year since 1997–98.

Peter Hain: The information is published annually by the National Assembly for Wales in Welsh Local Government Financial Statistics", and is attached in the following table:
	
		Average band D council tax (inc community council and police precept)
		
			  1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 
		
		
			 Isle of Anglesey 424 477 534 621 647 
			 Gwynedd 515 571 618 673 695 
			 Conwy 403 460 488 551 600 
			 Denbighshire 528 599 647 733 774 
			 Flintshire 511 563 592 654 702 
			 Wrexham 520 575 633 701 729 
			 Powys 426 501 552 628 673 
			 Ceredigion 562 623 670 723 761 
			 Pembrokeshire 451 507 542 603 609 
			 Carmarthenshire 557 613 666 724 747 
			 Swansea 478 548 596 681 710 
			 Neath Port Talbot 619 692 750 837 884 
			 Bridgend 539 601 647 702 768 
			 Vale of Glamorgan 443 495 532 600 655 
			 Rhondda Cynon Taff 558 611 686 772 810 
			 Merthyr Tydfil 569 639 712 799 870 
			 Caerphilly 518 583 633 670 697 
			 Blaenau Gwent 492 563 640 727 796 
			 Torfaen 483 532 564 624 654 
			 Monmouthshire 403 452 485 597 674 
			 Newport 413 464 531 567 576 
			 Cardiff 486 546 573 633 691 
			 Wales 496 555 602 669 710 
		
	
	
		
			  2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 
		
		
			 Isle of Anglesey 711 798 843 876 911 
			 Gwynedd 761 837 890 961 1,008 
			 Conwy 655 730 111 827 868 
			 Denbighshire 843 945 1,007 1,051 1,078 
			 Flintshire 752 820 881 921 965 
			 Wrexham 784 850 911 931 962 
			 Powys 713 787 868 901 946 
			 Ceredigion 802 847 883 901 932 
			 Pembrokeshire 628 674 707 734 764 
			 Carmarthenshire 801 867 907 941 988 
			 Swansea 755 832 880 910 956 
			 Neath Port Talbot 960 1,030 1,087 1,128 1,165 
			 Bridgend 829 910 949 995 1,035 
			 Vale of Glamorgan 709 783 829 866 913 
			 Rhondda Cynon Taff 853 903 955 1,002 1,053 
			 Merthyr Tydfil 939 1,004 1,049 1,090 1,130 
			 Caerphilly 756 825 862 902 946 
			 Blaenau Gwent 879 976 1,038 1,101 1,157 
			 Torfaen 716 824 892 940 986 
			 Monmouthshire 730 841 917 954 991 
			 Newport 597 671 732 772 814 
			 Cardiff 748 841 872 872 910 
			 Wales 762 837 887 921 962

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people in his Department have been (a) disciplined and (b) dismissed for (i) inappropriate use of the internet while at work and (ii) using work telephones to access premium rate telephone numbers in each of the last five years.

Peter Hain: None.

Ministerial Meetings

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on what occasions since May 2005 (a) he and (b) the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State has met the Welsh Assembly Minister for Health and Social Services.

Peter Hain: My ministerial colleague regularly meets the Minister for Health and Social Services in the National Assembly for Wales. He has done so on five occasions since May 2005: May, July, October and November 2005, and April 2006.
	I have regular meetings with the First Minister, where we discuss a range of issues including health. I have also had periodic meetings with the Minister at various formal and informal occasions.

Ministerial Meetings

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to the answer of 30 November 2005, Official Report, column 250, on what date the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State discussed the future of Withybush hospital with the Welsh Assembly Minister for Health and Social Services; and what views on the downgrading of the hospital the Minister expressed.

Nick Ainger: I discussed the future of Withybush hospital with the Assembly Minister for Health and Social Services in November 2005. I subsequently wrote to the hon. Gentlemen in December, setting out the latest position at that time and my views. I am placing a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Missing Children

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children on the Child Protection Register were reported missing to the police in each local authority area in each of the last three years.

Maria Eagle: The Department for Education and Skills does not collect this information centrally.

Missing Children

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children in local authority care were reported missing from care to the police in Warrington in each year since 1995.

Maria Eagle: This information is not collected centrally.

Pupil Numbers

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children are forecast to be aged (a) up to four years, (b) primary school age, (c) secondary school age and (d) 16 to 18 years in each of the next 25 years for which figures are available.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 2 May 2006
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your question about how many children are forecast to be aged (a) up to four years, (b) primary school age, (c) secondary school age and (d) 16 to 18 years in each of the next 25 years for which figures are available. I am replying in her absence. (65991)
	The attached table shows the projected number of children in the United Kingdom aged 0 to 4, 5 to 11, 12 to 15 and 16 to 18 for the years 2004 to 2029 inclusive.
	The 2004-based national population projections are based on assumptions about future migration, fertility and mortality. Future experience may well differ from these assumptions. More information, including alternative high and low variant assumptions, can be found on the GAD website at: http://www.gad.gov.uk/Population/index.asp?dp=Current+projectio ns&subYear=Proceed.
	
		Projected number of children in the United Kingdom, 2004–29 -- Thousand
		
			  Age group(1) 
			 Year(2) 0 to 4 5 to 11 12 to 15 16 to 18 Total aged 0 to 18 
		
		
			 2004 3,389 5,116 3,141 2,353 13,999 
			 2005 3,427 5,045 3,124 2,375 13,970 
			 2006 3,471 4,965 3,092 2,384 13,913 
			 2007 3,511 4,901 3,029 2,389 13,830 
			 2008 3,530 4,857 2,976 2,395 13,757 
			 2009 3,521 4,832 2,953 2,372 13,677 
			 2010 3,501 4,836 2,921 2,326 13,585 
			 2011 3,493 4,844 2,894 2,275 13,506 
			 2012 3,492 4,865 2,851 2,246 13,454 
			 2013 3,498 4,900 2,784 2,233 13,415 
			 2014 3,509 4,934 2,734 2,219 13,396 
			 2015 3,524 4,951 2,714 2,194 13,383 
			 2016 3,540 4,945 2,739 2,144 13,368 
			 2017 3,556 4,930 2,792 2,096 13,373 
			 2018 3,571 4,927 2,837 2,058 13,394 
			 2019 3,585 4,933 2,859 2,058 13,435 
			 2020 3,595 4,946 2,852 2,100 13,493 
			 2021 3,603 4,964 2,833 2,154 13,553 
			 2022 3,606 4,985 2,822 2,181 13,594 
			 2023 3,606 5,006 2,819 2,178 13,609 
			 2024 3,603 5,026 2,822 2,160 13,611 
			 2025 3,597 5,043 2,830 2,149 13,620 
			 2026 3,589 5,057 2,841 2,145 13,631 
			 2027 3,578 5,067 2,853 2,145 13,643 
			 2028 3,564 5,073 2,867 2,150 13,653 
			 2029 3,550 5,073 2,880 2,157 13,660 
		
	
	(1) Age relates to completed years as at June 30 of the year shown. Age 11 has been used as the upper bound for primary school age as the majority of children will be aged 11 at 30 June of their final year in primary school.
	(2) Figures are for the population at June 30 of the year shown.
	Source:
	2004-based national population projections, GAD

Service Children's Education

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of (a) A-level and (b) GCSE pupils from service children's education schools achieved each grade of examination qualification during the academic year 2004/05.

Don Touhig: I have been asked to reply.
	The following results were achieved by pupils attending schools operated by Service Children's Education during academic year 2004/05:
	
		(a) A-level achievement during academic year 2004/05 by SCE pupils as a percentage by grade
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 Grade A 14.4 
			 Grade B 22.1 
			 Grade C 27 
			 Grade D 23.4 
			 Grade E 11.3 
		
	
	Note:
	Other (includes ungraded, no award): 1.8 per cent.
	
		(b) GCSE achievement by SCE pupils during academic year 2004–05 as a percentage by grade
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 Grade A* 3.1 
			 Grade A 10.8 
			 Grade B 21.2 
			 Grade C 29.3 
			 Grade D 19.5 
			 Grade E 10.7 
			 Grade F 3.6 
			 Grade G 1 
		
	
	Note:
	Other (includes ungraded, no award): 0.8 per cent.

Teachers

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps are being taken to address the shortage of qualified school teachers in key subjects.

Jacqui Smith: In January 2006 the vacancy rate for teachers of most subjects, including mathematics, science, ICT and English, was lower than in 2005.
	Since 2000, we have provided bursaries to PGCE trainee teachers in a range of priority subjects. We have also provided them with a Golden Hello" after their first year teaching. From September 2005 the bursary for mathematics and science trainees rose to £7,000, with a £5,000 Golden Hello". From September 2006, financial support will increase to £9,000 for all priority subject trainees. Mathematics and science teachers will also be provided with a Golden Hello" of £5,000 (£2,500 for other priority subjects).
	Courses to enhance subject knowledge for those planning to train to teach mathematics and physics began in January this year, and chemistry courses will start next January. Financial incentives are offered to training providers who recruit extra trainees to teach maths and science.
	The Budget announced additional funding to encourage more undergraduates to
	pursue teaching as a career, and to provide additional training to prepare a wider range of graduates to become teachers of priority subjects. It also said that the School Teachers Pay Review Body would be remitted to advise both on improving current pay flexibilities to improve the recruitment, retention and quality of science and mathematics teachers and also on whether sciences teachers should receive an incentive to complete training to enhance their ability to teach physics and chemistry.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Palestinian Territories (Funding)

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the terms and mechanism put in place by the Reform Trust Fund to protect against the diversion of EU funding to the Palestinian territories into terrorist activities are currently being reviewed; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: The Hamas-led Government have not yet met the principles for aid partnership as set out by the Quartet on 30 January. These are recognition of Israel, renunciation of violence and acceptance of previous peace agreements and obligations. The EU is a member of the Quartet, and EU member states and the European Commission are currently reviewing their programmes of support to the Palestinians.
	While we will continue to do everything we can to reduce the suffering of the Palestinian people we will not be funding any organisations that we believe might divert funds to terrorist activities. In line with our standard practice, we will continue to monitor all programmes carefully to ensure that aid is used only for poverty reduction.

Palestinian Territories (Funding)

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will define development support as put in place for the Palestinian people since the recent Palestinian legislative elections; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: DFID's programme of development support to the Palestinian Territories is focused on helping to meet the basic needs of the Palestinian people. This means finding ways to prevent an increase in poverty, including funding for essential services such as health, water and electricity. We believe the best way to do this would be to continue providing direct budget support to the Palestinian Authority; but we cannot do this unless the Hamas-led PA government complies with the Quartet principles. These are: the recognition of Israel; the renunciation of violence; and the acceptance of previous agreements and obligations.
	DFID is in close contact with the UN and international partners to identify alternative means of supporting the basic needs of the Palestinian people.
	DFID has made £30 million available to the Palestinian programme for 2006–07. This includes a £15 million contribution announced on 25 April to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) which provides direct assistance to Palestinian refugees.

Asian Tsunami

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) the United States, (b) France and (c) Germany on the payment of funds pledged in aid to assist those affected by the tsunami.

Hilary Benn: In the immediate aftermath of the tsunami, the UK held discussions with the United States, France, Germany and other donors about meeting the relief and reconstruction needs of the affected countries. According to United Nations' figures, the United States pledged some $351 million to the relief effort, of which it has committed over $134 million, France pledged $61 million of which $26 million has been committed and Germany pledged $129 million and has committed the whole pledge.
	The relief phase was very well funded, and many government pledges were made before the full extent of the world's generous and unprecedented response was known. Private commitments alone exceeded $4 billion. Funds that were not committed in the relief phase may have been made available for reconstruction support.
	The UK has continued to discuss the ongoing response with other donors. Sufficient funds are, however, only one of the constraints to meeting the needs of those most affected by the tsunami.

Corruption

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what use his Department makes of Transparency International's evaluation of the level of corruption in particular countries.

Hilary Benn: Tackling corruption is a priority for DFID. We are working closely with Transparency International and other development partners to gain a better understanding of the true scale and impact of corruption in developing countries.
	Transparency International is an important advocate in the fight against corruption, having helped to raise public awareness and create pressure for action. The Transparency International Corruption Perception Index is widely credited for putting the issue of corruption on the international agenda and its global corruption barometer is a useful tool for assessing the perceptions of the public in the sixty countries where it has undertaken research. It also publishes valuable information in its annual global corruption report.
	The comparative indices produced by Transparency International, which aggregate perception-based information, cannot be used in isolation to evaluate the level of corruption in particular countries. These indices are therefore only one element of the information gathered by DFID to analyse the nature and impact of corruption.
	DFID supports Transparency International's work and since 2001 has contributed over £1 million to its International Secretariat and to 11 of its national chapters (in country offices).

Democratic Republic of the Congo

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken by his Department to work with international child protection agencies to improve awareness of child protection issues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Hilary Benn: The UK has been involved in discussions with the Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC) Ministry of Justice, the UN and NGOs on the subject of child protection issues in the DRC. We continue to remind the DRC Government of its responsibility to protect all its citizens, particularly vulnerable groups such as children.
	DFID has funded the non-governmental organisation RCN—Justice and Democracy" to train magistrates, prosecutors, other court officials, judicial police and customary chiefs in four provinces in the DRC on a range of justice and human rights issues, including child protection and the appropriate treatment of children within the justice system. This project is being implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Justice in the DRC.
	DFID has also given £3 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross for their 2006 appeal. Their programme includes tackling child protection issues in the DRC, and supporting children in vulnerable circumstances, such as those in detention, or children associated with fighting forces.
	We are giving £30 million to the 2006 UN Humanitarian Action Plan for the DRC, which includes aims to address humanitarian needs throughout the DRC and includes programmes on child protection and promoting the rights of children.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on (a) protecting street children during the electoral period, (b) ensuring that law enforcement personnel respect the right to peaceful protest, (c) educating police officers about issues affecting street children and (d) ending the practice of arbitrary arrest and roundups of street children;
	(2)  what steps are being taken by his Department to provide support for street children living in Kinshasa.

Hilary Benn: The UK frequently reminds the authorities in DRC of the need to protect the rights of all vulnerable groups, including street children. We maintain close and regular contact with the DRC President's Ambassador for Children, and will continue to work with civil society groups, established churches and the Congolese Government to address this problem, push for further action to protect the DRC's vulnerable children, and bring those who abuse children to justice.
	The UK is giving £30 million to the 2006 UN Humanitarian Action Plan for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which includes programmes on protecting and providing for vulnerable children, including street children. We also contribute to programmes through UNICEF, Save the Children and other NGOs which aim to protect children.
	DFID has supported the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to design a programme to train and equip the police to provide security during the elections. DFID has now given £9 million to support the implementation of this programme through the UN and the police service of South Africa. It includes training for the police on respecting the right to peaceful protest and how to deal with vulnerable groups, such as children. The programme also incorporates a public information campaign to ensure the Congolese people know their rights and how they should expect police officers to behave.
	DFID has also funded the non-governmental organisation RCN—Justice and Democracy" to train magistrates, prosecutors, other court officials, judicial police and customary chiefs in four provinces of the DRC on a range of justice and human rights issues, including child protection and the appropriate treatment of children within the justice system. This project is being implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Justice in the DRC.
	DFID has also contributed £3 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) 2006 Emergency Appeal. Part of the ICRC's work is to follow up vulnerable people in detention, particularly children formerly associated with armed groups, minors in general and women, and to encourage the detaining and judicial authorities to uphold the rights of detainees who are particularly at risk.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken by his Department to (a) support children's rights and (b) improve access to education in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Hilary Benn: The human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains poor. The UK frequently reminds the DRC's authorities of the need to protect the rights of all vulnerable groups, including children.
	DFID is funding a non-governmental organisation, RCN—Justice and Democracy" to train magistrates, prosecutors, other court officials, judicial police and customary chiefs in four provinces in the DRC on a range of justice and human rights issues, including child protection and the appropriate treatment of children within the justice system. This project is being implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Justice in the DRC.
	DFID is contributing £30 million to the 2006 UN Humanitarian Action Plan for the DRC, which includes programmes for the protection of vulnerable children, to rebuild schools destroyed by conflict and to continue basic education of children in communities ravaged by war.
	DFID has also contributed £3 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) 2006 Emergency Appeal. Part of the ICRC's work is to follow up vulnerable people in detention, particularly children formerly associated with armed groups, minors in general and women, and to encourage the detaining and judicial authorities to uphold the rights of detainees who are particularly at risk.
	The Government of the DRC is at a very early stage in its planning of service delivery in the social sectors, but we are working with them, as part of the international community, to support the development and implementation of a long-term plan for the provision of education and health services to the Congolese population. In the meantime DFID is providing £641,000 to the Catholic Relief Service for school equipment and teacher training in the North Sankuru district of Eastern Kasai.

Education

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will set out the Government's proposals to increase capacity funding to help African and other developing countries develop their 10 year plans for providing education under his delivering education for all initiative.

Hilary Benn: We anticipate that the fast track initiative's education programme development fund, to which we are doubling our contribution from £2.5 million to £5 million, will be used to help provide technical support to countries with weak capacity to develop or implement sound 10-year education sector plans. This will be the main channel for identifying where technical help is needed, in consultation with other donors who are supporting the education sector. We are also increasing our support to the fast track initiative's catalytic fund from £50 million to £150 million over two years.

Equal Pay

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are undertaken within his Department to ensure that women are obtaining equal pay to men doing work of equal value.

Hilary Benn: The Cabinet Office undertook an equal pay review for the senior civil service (SCS) in 2002 which has been re-examined each year since then as part of the Government's evidence to the Senior Salaries Review Body.
	DFID carries out a full diversity review, including an equal pay analysis, prior to the implementation of its annual senior civil service (SCS) pay award.
	In response to Just Pay", the Equal Pay Task Force report published in January 2001, the Government committed Departments and agencies to review their pay systems for all staff below the SCS, and to address any equal pay gaps by April 2003.
	DFID carried out a fundamental equal pay audit and produced a detailed action plan in April 2003. All aspects of pay and reward are audited for diversity purposes, including equal pay, on an annual basis.

Eritrea

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with the Government of Eritrea about its decision to expel three international aid charities.

Hilary Benn: The British ambassador and DFID staff have raised this issue, in the wider context of the constraints placed on the humanitarian operations by the Government of Eritrea with the Minister for National Development, the Minister for Labour and Human Welfare, the Director General Europe (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and the Director of the Office of the President, during a DFID visit to Eritrea earlier this month. The Government of Eritrea said they were concerned about the amount of assistance that they have received, with little impact.
	The British ambassador and DFID officials also met with the three international NGOs concerned.
	I also spoke with the UN Secretary-General's Special Humanitarian Envoy for the horn of Africa, Mr. Kjell Bondevik, before he departed for Eritrea this week and also with the UN Emergency Relief Co-ordinator, Mr. Jan Egeland. I highlighted my concern about this issue and the lack of reliable information on the humanitarian situation in Eritrea, and encouraged Mr. Bondevik to raise these issues during his visit.

Ethiopia

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what development assistance (a) his Department and (b) the EU has provided to Ethiopia in each of the last five years.

Hilary Benn: DFID's development assistance to Ethiopia (in the last five complete financial years) is as follows:
	
		£ million
		
			  Amount 
		
		
			 2000–01 16.2 
			 2001–02 11.8 
			 2002–03 42.7 
			 2003–04 43.3 
			 2004–05 62.4 
		
	
	Assistance from the EU (in calendar years) is as follows, with DFID's share of this funding shown in brackets:
	
		£ million
		
			  Amount 
		
		
			 2000 45.6 (10.2) 
			 2001 69.4 (11.8) 
			 2002 77.7 (9.3) 
			 2003 91.3 (10.3) 
			 2004 61.5 (11.3)

Gurkha Welfare Scheme

John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial support his Department made available to the Gurkha welfare scheme in 2005–06; what such support is planned for 2006–07; and what the reasons are for the change in the level of support.

Gareth Thomas: In 2005–06, DFID provided £1.25 million through the Gurkha welfare scheme (GWS) for improvements to water and sanitation facilities in rural Nepal.
	For 2006–07, DFID has allocated £900,000 to the GWS. Other competing demands within declining DFID allocations for the Nepal programme meant that it was not possible to maintain or increase the previous levels of support.

Logging

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the (a) scale of illegal logging transfers from Burma to China and (b) impact illegal logging has on each country.

Hilary Benn: In April 2005, DFID funded the NGO Forest Trends, in co-operation with the World Agroforestry Centre (formerly ICRAF), to produce a report: 'Navigating the Border: An Analysis of the China-Myanmar Timber Trade'. In addition, Her Majesty's Government officials were consulted on the October 2005 Global Witness Report: A Choice for China: Ending the destruction of Burma's frontier forests". We believe that the analysis of the trade and its impact contained in these reports is broadly accurate. They report that:
	China imported 1.3 million m 3 of timber from Burma in 2003, almost 60 per cent. of total world imports of Burmese timber. In financial terms this equates to illegal timber exports worth $250 million to $300 million annually across the border from northern Burma to China's Yunnan province. Global Witness estimate that two-thirds of Burma's total revenue from timber exports came from illegal trade, mostly with China, and that more than 100 Chinese timber companies and 20,000 Chinese loggers are involved in the trade inside Burma.
	In Burma, logging is having an adverse effect on both the local population and the environment. Deforestation has caused localised flooding, drought and resulting crop failure, the disappearance of wild animals and birdlife associated with the forests. Local people in Burma derive little direct financial benefit from the logging industry and are frequently worse off as a result of the presence of Chinese logging companies.
	In China, the increased concentration of logging firms and workers along the Yunnan-Burma border has meant that the timber buyers on China's eastern seaboard largely bypass inland Yunnan and procure materials directly on the border. The recent wave of migration to the Yunnan-Burma border has, in some areas, led to a visible increase in gambling, drugs and commercial sex work.
	In March 2006, in response to these reports, the Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry took the unusual step of admitting that some of its companies and individual citizens are involved in illegal logging in Burma, and said the Government were paying high attention" to the problem and requests the Chinese companies and individuals to abide by local laws and regulations."
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office have funded follow-up work by Global Witness to identify 'Opportunities for Action' with recommendations for the Burmese Government, Burmese civil society and international community, which should also be considered in the framework of the EU's commitment to fight against illegal logging worldwide as part of the FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) process. The Commission have made a proposal for 'voluntary partnerships' with producer countries to identify legal logs for import into the EU.

Middle East

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to his answer of 29 March 2006, Official Report, column 979–80W, to the hon. Friend Member for Teignbridge, (Richard Younger-Ross), and of 18 April 2006 to Question 63655, on the Middle East, what is meant by programmes aimed at meeting Palestinians' basic needs; what the budget for such funds is; and how such funds will be administered.

Hilary Benn: Meeting Palestinians' basic needs is about finding other ways to stop poverty getting worse including funding for essential services such as health, water and electricity.
	DFID has made £30 million available to the Palestinian programme for 2006–07. This includes a £15 million contribution announced on 25 April to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) which provides direct assistance to Palestinian refugees.
	We are in close contact with the UN and international partners on identifying other mechanisms for supporting basic needs. We will not be funding organisations where there is a risk of resources being used for anything other than poverty reduction.

Mount Merapi (Eruption)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of the potential humanitarian impact of (a) the predicted eruption of Mount Merapi in Indonesia and (b) the refusal of villagers in the vicinity of Mount Merapi to evacuate; what plans his Department has drawn up to assist in the event of an eruption; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: DFID takes very seriously the potential humanitarian impact of an eruption of Mount Merapi in Indonesia. We are monitoring the situation closely through daily situation reports from the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and other sources. These include updates on the latest efforts to evacuate the region. Thousands of villagers have already been evacuated to safe areas, but we are aware that some are reluctant to leave their homes until the alert level is raised to level IV (eruption could be within 24 hours). The UN Resident Co-ordinator's Office has deployed an emergency officer to the area to review co-ordination and preparedness mechanisms and identify gaps. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and stand ready to assist in the event of an eruption.

Mount Merapi (Eruption)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of official efforts to evacuate the region surrounding Mount Merapi in Indonesia; what assistance has (a) sought from and (b) provided by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: DFID is closely monitoring the situation in the Mount Merapi region, through daily situation reports from the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and other sources. These include latest assessments of official efforts to evacuate the region and information on numbers and condition of those evacuated. The UN Resident Co-ordinator's Office has deployed an emergency officer to the region to review co-ordination and preparedness mechanisms and identify any gaps. Evacuation sites and routes have been identified and logistics are in place.
	Central and local government agencies, as well as the World Health Organisation, Indonesian Red Cross, International Federation of the Red Cross, and other non-governmental organisations are involved in efforts to evacuate the region and meet displaced people's needs. No assistance has yet been formally requested from DFID. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and stand ready to contribute emergency humanitarian assistance should such a response become necessary.

Somalia

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken by his Department to avoid famine in Somalia.

Hilary Benn: The UK recognises the severity of the current humanitarian situation in Somalia and the risks of further deterioration. The most pessimistic predictions, however, including famine, are only likely if the 2006 long rains fail. Fortunately these have now started and are continuing well. So far we see malnutrition and mortality rates that are high but not yet catastrophic, and some of the predicted drought enforced migrations that had been envisaged have not taken place. This is likely to be, at least in part, due to the efforts of the relief agencies.
	The UK is one of the leading donors to humanitarian response in Somalia and provided one of the first contributions to the World Food Programme (WFP) food aid operation in December 2005. Since then, we have contributed over £12 million to the WFP, the International Committee of the Red Cross, to other UN agencies and non- governmental organisations to deal with the humanitarian crisis there.
	We continue to follow developments closely. It will be some time, however, before the rains result in better conditions and prospects for people in the worst effected areas. Indeed, the immediate effect on weakened human and livestock populations may be increased risks for example from water-borne disease and flooding, and interruptions to the supply of relief.

Sub-Saharan Africa

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken by his Department to improve the business and investment climate in sub-Saharan Africa.

Hilary Benn: Helping African Governments get their business and investment climates right is a priority for DFID. We support a wide range of programmes in Africa to address this. These include improving business regulation (such as registration and licensing of companies), infrastructure development, financial sector reform, customs administration, promoting fair competition, and stimulating public-private dialogue about investment climate reform.
	In response to the Commission for Africa and G8 Gleneagles' commitments, the UK Government have committed US$30 million to the Investment Climate Facility (ICF) for Africa over the next three years. Three private sector companies have also committed support and other donors are showing positive interest with both the World bank and the Republic of Ireland planning to make contributions. The ICF will address many issues related to the investment climate—helping to develop improved policies, laws, regulations and procedures that impact on business. The ICF trustees (drawn mainly from Africa) are planning to launch the ICF around the middle of this year.
	DFID has also committed US$20 million to a complementary initiative—the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF). It is in the design stage and should be launched this autumn. The AECF will provide grants to private sector enterprises, on a competitive basis, which will allow them to test innovative business models and higher-risk ventures.

Sudan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with the Government of Sudan on attitudes towards women with particular reference to (a) assaults on women, (b) rape and (c) female genital mutilation.

Hilary Benn: I deplore the continuing crimes of rape and sexual violence in Darfur. Such attacks are abhorrent and totally unacceptable. We have made, and continue to make clear to the Government of Sudan that more must be done to provide security for the citizens of Darfur, and that perpetrators of such crimes must be brought to justice. The UK Government oppose female genital mutilation and we support local initiatives to discourage it. Tackling rape and gender-based violence has been a key point at the regular meetings between the international community and the Government of Sudan. The Government of Sudan have formulated an action plan to eliminate violence against women, but we continue to press the Government of Sudan to implement the plan.

The Gambia

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he has taken to support the economic development of The Gambia.

Hilary Benn: DFID is working in partnership with the Gambian Government, international partner and civil society groups to support the national Poverty Reduction Strategy, which aims to create an enabling environment for economic and social development, poverty reduction, enhancement of productive capacity, and social protection for the poorest.
	In this context, DFID is working to strengthen governance performance and combat social exclusion of the poorest, particularly in the education sector. Our support is focused on the following main areas:
	Basic Education Support for Poverty Reduction (2005–08) to enhance the capacity of the Department of Education to deliver quality education and support the development of national education policy.
	Legal Capacity Building (2004–07) to improve the accessibility, impartiality and efficiency of the judicial system for the rural poor majority; includes training for professional and administrative staff in the Judiciary and Department of State for Justice.
	Financial governance (2005–2008) will help strengthen public financial management and ensure best use of financial resources in implementing the Poverty Reduction Strategy. Training for the National Assembly Public Accounts Committee and capacity building in the Department of State for Finance are included.
	Civil society capacity building (2004–06) supporting civil society's role in monitoring and tracking planned and actual budgetary expenditure against Government policies.
	Debt management (2004–06) assisting the Government with the design and implementation of a domestic debt management strategy.
	Foreign private capital capacity building (2004–2006) aiming to build capacity at national level and raise awareness for monitoring private capital flows.
	DFID has a bilateral development programme allocation of £3 million for 2006–07, and also provides support through contributions to multilateral organisations, such as the European Union, the World Bank and United Nations Agencies. Our estimated share of this assistance was £1.4 million in 2004.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Crown Prosecution Service

David Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General what action can be taken against officials in the Crown Prosecution Service (a) who make (i) a negligent and (ii) an unintentional mistake during the course of their work and (b) who deliberately fail to implement the prosecutor's code; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The Code for Crown Prosecutors gives guidance on the general principles to be applied when making decisions about prosecutions. In addition, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has a code of conduct, job descriptions and person specifications so that managers and staff know what is expected of them. The CPS is also in the process of rolling-out a professional skills and valued behaviour framework, which will further underline and specify the performance standards required of staff. In the event of an apparent failure to deliver to the necessary standard, it is for line management to identify the causes and to take action, whether on grounds of capability or conduct, using the appropriate employment procedures.

Crown Prosecution Service

David Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General if he will list the occasions when action has been taken against officials employed by the Crown Prosecution Service for negligence in each month since 1997.

Mike O'Brien: It is for line management to identify whether the acts and/or omissions of staff could constitute negligence and to take action, as appropriate, in accordance with the Crown Prosecution Service's capability and conduct procedures. Management actions would not ordinarily be captured centrally unless disciplinary action for serious or gross misconduct was involved. No such cases are recorded for the period in question.

Crown Prosecution Service

David Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General how many staff were dismissed from the Crown Prosecution Service in each month since 1997, broken down by grade; and what the reason was in each case.

Mike O'Brien: Data setting out the reasons for leaving are not available for staff who left the CPS prior to 1 April 2001. This date coincides with the change of the human resources database. Details of dismissals can be provided with effect from April 2001 and these are shown by month and pay band below.
	The reasons for dismissal are either on inefficiency or disciplinary grounds. The details of the inefficiency cases are as follows:
	
		
			 Month Pay band 
			  Al A2 Bl B2 Cl C2 D E 
		
		
			 2001 
			 April 1 1 — — — — — — 
			 May 1 1 — — — — — — 
			 June — 1 — — — — — — 
			 July 1 — — — — — — — 
			 August 2 — — — — 1 — — 
			 September 2 2 — — — — — — 
			 October — 1 — — — — — — 
			 November 3 — 1 — — — — — 
			 December 1 1 — — — — — — 
			  
			 2002 
			 January 1 1 — — — — — — 
			 February — 2 — — 3 — — — 
			 March 1 1 — — — — — — 
			 April — — — — 1 — — — 
			 May — — — — — — — — 
			 June 2 — — — — 1 — — 
			 July 1 2 — — 1 — — — 
			 August 2 1 — — — — — — 
			 September 3 1 — — — — — — 
			 October 1 — — — 1 — — — 
			 November — 2 — — 2 — — — 
			 December 1 2 — — — — — — 
			  
			 2003 
			 January 1 2 — — 1 1 — — 
			 February 2 2 — — — — — — 
			 March 2 — — — — 1 — — 
			 April 3 1 — — 2 1 — — 
			 May 1 — — — 1 — — — 
			 June 2 — — — — — — — 
			 July 1 1 — — 1 — — — 
			 August 3 1 1 — — — — — 
			 September 1 1 — — — — — — 
			 October 5 — — — — — — — 
			 November 1 1 — — — — — — 
			 December 2 1 — — — — — — 
			  
			 2004 
			 January 3 — — — — — — — 
			 February 1 1 — 2 — — — — 
			 March 1 1 — 2 — — — — 
			 April 2 — — — — — — — 
			 May — 1 — — — — — — 
			 June 1 3 1 — — — — — 
			 July — — — — — — — — 
			 August 1 1 — — 1 — — — 
			 September 1 1 — — 1 — — — 
			 October — — — — — — — — 
			 November 2 — — — — — — — 
			 December — 1 — — 1 — — — 
			  
			 2005 
			 January 1 — — — — — — — 
			 February — — — — — — — — 
			 March — — — — — — — — 
			 April — — — — 1 — — — 
			 May — — — — — — — — 
			 June — — — — — — — — 
			 July — — 1 — — — — — 
			 August — — — — — — — — 
			 September — — — — — — — — 
			 October — — — — — — — — 
			 November 1 — — — — — — — 
			 December — 1 — — — 1 — — 
			  
			 2006 
			 January — — — — — — — — 
			 February — 1 — — — — — — 
			 March — 2 — — — — — — 
			 April — — — — — — — — 
		
	
	The details of the cases involving dismissal on disciplinary grounds are as follows:
	
		
			 Month Pay band 
			  A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2 D E 
		
		
			 2001 
			 April — — — — — — — — 
			 May — — — — — — — — 
			 June — — — — — — — — 
			 July — — — — — — — — 
			 August — — — — — — — — 
			 September — — — — — — — — 
			 October — — — — — — — — 
			 November — — — — — — — — 
			 December — — — — — — — — 
			  
			 2002 
			 January — — — — — — — — 
			 February — — — — — — — — 
			 March — — — — — — — — 
			 April — — — — — — — — 
			 May — — — — — — — — 
			 June — — — — — — 1 — 
			 July — 1 — — — — — — 
			 August — — — — — — — — 
			 September — — — — — 1 — — 
			 October — — — — — — — — 
			 November — — — — — — — — 
			 December — 1 — — — — — — 
			  
			 2003 
			 January — 1 — — — — — — 
			 February — — 1 — — — — — 
			 March — — — — — — — — 
			 April — — — — — — — — 
			 May — — — — — — — — 
			 June — — 1 — — — — — 
			 July — — — — — — — — 
			 August — — — — — — — — 
			 September — — — 1 — — — — 
			 October — 1 — — — — — — 
			 November — — — — — — — — 
			 December 1 — — — — — — — 
			  
			 2004 
			 January — 1 — — — — — — 
			 February 1 — — — — — — — 
			 March — — — — — — — — 
			 April — — — — — — — — 
			 May — — — — — — — — 
			 June — — — — — — — — 
			 July — — — — — — — — 
			 August — — — — — — — — 
			 September — — — — — — — 1 
			 October — — — — — — — — 
			 November — — — — — — — — 
			 December — — — — — 1 — — 
			  
			 2005 
			 January — 1 — — — — — — 
			 February 1 — — — — — — — 
			 March — — — — — — — — 
			 April — — — — — — — — 
			 May — — — — — — — — 
			 June — 1 — — — — — — 
			 July — — — — — — — — 
			 August — — — — — 1 — — 
			 September — — — — — — — — 
			 October — — — — — — — — 
			 November — — — — — — — — 
			 December — — — — — — — — 
			  
			 2006 
			 January — 1 — — — — — — 
			 February — — — — — — — — 
			 March — — — — — — — — 
			 April — — — — — — — —

Crown Prosecution Service

David Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on progress in improving public (a) awareness of and (b) confidence in the Crown Prosecution Service;
	(2)  who in the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is responsible for improving public (a) awareness of and (b) confidence in the CPS; to whom that person reports; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is making good progress in improving public awareness and public confidence in its work. A communication strategy has been developed to improve public awareness of the CPS's role in prosecuting crime. The strategy includes proactively engaging with the media; working with other criminal justice system agencies on communication initiatives; improving stakeholder engagement; and promoting the CPS's vision of becoming a world-class prosecution authority. Greater awareness is important in raising public confidence in the CPS. The latest British Crime Survey report on policing and confidence, published on 30 March 2006, suggests that public satisfaction with the CPS's work has increased.
	Chief Crown Prosecutors (CCPs), in charge of each of the CPS's 42 areas, are locally responsible for improving public awareness and confidence in the CPS. CCPs report to the Director of Public Prosecutions and to the Chief Executive. Progress is also assessed by the independent CPS Inspectorate.
	At a national level the Director of Business Development has responsibility for improving public awareness of the CPS and the Director of Finance, has responsibility for improving public confidence in the Service. Both report to the Chief Executive.

Crown Prosecution Service

David Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General when the Prosecutor's Code was last updated; who was consulted; if he will place in the Library responses received; how (a) hon. Members, (b) Members of the House of Lords and (c) members of the public can obtain copies; at what cost; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The Code for Crown Prosecutors is reviewed and reissued from time-to-time, the latest edition being published on 16 November 2004.
	The Attorney-General announced the review of the Code on 18 March 2004, Official Report, column WS25, indicating that the review would be limited in scope to take account of recent developments and that there would be appropriate consultation. The completion of the review was announced by the Attorney-General on 16 November 2004, Official Report, column WS50, stating that copies of the revised Code had been printed and placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
	Consultation on the latest edition of the Code included prosecutors from other prosecuting agencies and departments; criminal justice system partners; interest groups; the senior judiciary; academics; and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) staff. It would not be appropriate to publish their responses since they were not informed that this would happen at the time.
	The Code is a public document, which is available free of charge on the CPS's website www.cps.gov.uk. Copies are also available free of charge on request from the CPS publications branch.

Insurance Fraud

John Spellar: To ask the Solicitor-General what steps the Crown Prosecution Service is taking to prosecute insurance fraud.

Mike O'Brien: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutes all cases of dishonesty, including insurance fraud, vigorously. When a case is received from the police it is reviewed in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors. If there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction and it is in the public interest to prosecute, the CPS will do so.
	The CPS is participating in the Attorney-General's Review of Fraud which was announced in Parliament on 27 October 2005, Official Report, columns 16–17WS. The Review is an interdepartmental review of the arrangements for tackling fraud with the aim of reducing the amount of fraud and minimising the harm it causes to the economy and wider society. The Review is expected to report to Ministers by the early summer of 2006.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the (a) number and (b) scale of insurgent attacks which have taken place in Helmand province in Afghanistan in each of the last six months.

John Reid: We continually assess the number of insurgents believed to be operating in Helmand province and our understanding will develop further as the number of United Kingdom forces and Afghan security presence increase in the area.
	For reasons of operational security we would not wish to elaborate upon our assessment of the numbers of insurgents or our assessments of their capability.

Annington Homes

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what ongoing involvement his Department has with (a) individual domestic dwellings and (b) communal areas of former military housing which Annington Homes has sold to private owners; and if he will make a statement.

Don Touhig: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has no ongoing involvement with either individual domestic dwellings or communal areas of former military housing, which Annington Homes Ltd. (AHL) has sold to private owners.
	However, in a few cases, some properties continue to be supplied with water and or sewerage treatment from military bases and MOD raises the relevant charges for these services.
	The communal areas are generally operated by management companies formed and owned by committees of housing estate residents to whom the areas were sold.

Armed Forces Recruits

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) nationality and (b) residential qualifications required by recruits to HM armed forces are.

Don Touhig: To be accepted for employment in the armed forces an applicant must satisfy the following conditions:
	That at all times since birth he/she has been a British or Commonwealth citizen, or a Republic of Ireland national, and
	That he/she was born in a country which is (or then was) within the Commonwealth or in the Republic of Ireland.
	A waiver of these requirements may be granted, in exceptional circumstances, to applicants who are British or Commonwealth citizens, or Republic of Ireland nationals, at the time of their application. This would also cover those applicants who had been granted British citizenship.
	With regard to residential qualifications, all applicants for the armed forces are normally required to spend a minimum five years residency in the UK immediately prior to application before being accepted into the services. Waivers to this rule are granted: they are based on an individual's circumstances and are dependent on the country in which the applicant has been living and the ease with which background security checks can be made.

Atomic Weapons Establishment

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research has been undertaken at the Atomic Weapons Establishment into the development of a new nuclear warhead for (a) Trident and (b) a replacement deterrent.

John Reid: I have nothing to add to the answer I gave on 21 March 2006, Official Report, column 364W, to the hon. Member for New Forest, East (Dr. Lewis).

Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Minister for Veterans will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 13 March, reference 01611/2006.

Don Touhig: I wrote to the hon. Member on 28 April.

Defence Munitions Centre Crombie

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his written statement of 28 February 2006, Official Report, columns 9–10WS, on Defence Munitions Centre Crombie, what assessment his Department has made of the likely impact on levels of road freight on routes to and from Defence Munitions Centre Crombie following its proposed downgrading.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 18 April 2006, Official Report, column 5W.

Defence White Paper

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to publish the next Defence White Paper; and what plans he has to revise the Defence Planning Assumptions.

John Reid: The Government are committed to producing a Defence White Paper within the life of the Parliament.
	Defence Planning Assumptions are normally subject to routine review as part of the Department's planning cycle. On current plans this would lead to revised assumptions being issued in 2008.

Defensive Aids Suite

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the IRCM ALQ 157 as a defensive aids suite; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The Air Warfare Centre undertakes regular assessments to gauge the effectiveness of defensive aids against current and emerging threats. Details of these assessments cannot be released as this would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness and security of our armed forces.

Departmental Websites

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list (a) the websites operated by his Department and (b) the reports placed on the internet in March 2006, indicating in each case whether paper copies were also made available.

Don Touhig: The Ministry of Defence and armed forces collectively maintain four corporate websites:
	
		
			 Organisation Website address 
		
		
			 Ministry of Defence www.mod.uk 
			 Royal Navy www.royalnavy.mod.uk 
			 British Army www.army.mod.uk 
			 Royal Air Force www.raf.mod.uk 
		
	
	In addition there are two corporate service recruiting sites (Royal Navy recruiting is embedded in the main RN site):
	
		
			 Organisation Website address 
		
		
			 British Army www.armyjobs.mod.uk/ 
			 RAF Careers www.rafcareers.com 
		
	
	The following websites are maintained by business units within MOD. This list does not include sites created and maintained by individual units, regiments etc.
	
		
			  Website address 
		
		
			 UK Defence Standardization www.dstan.mod.uk 
			 SaBRE (Supporting Britain's Reservists and Employers) www.sabre.mod.uk 
			 Chief Scientific Advisor www.science.mod.uk 
			 Veterans Agency www.veteransagency.mod.uk 
			 Ministry of Defence Art Collection www.art.mod.uk 
			 Acquisition Management System www.ams.mod.uk 
			 Acquisition Safety and Environmental Management System www.asems.mod.uk 
			 Central Data Management Authority www.cdma.mod.uk 
			 Defence Analytical Services Agency www.dasa.mod.uk 
			 Defence Estates www.defence-estates.mod.uk 
			 Defence Medical Services Department www.dmsd.mod.uk 
			 Joint Air Transport Evaluation Unit www.jateu.mod.uk 
			 UK National Codification Bureau www.ncb.mod.uk 
			 Permanent Joint Headquarters www.northwood.mod.uk 
			 UK Military Flying Training Website www.ukmfts.mod.uk 
			 Defence Schools Presentation Team www.schools.mod.uk 
			 The 'We Were There Exhibition' Website www.wewerethere.mod.uk 
			 Defence Image Database www.defenceimagedatabase.mod.uk 
			 Defence Export Services Organisation www.deso.mod.uk 
			 Royal Navy Community Website www.rncom.mod.uk 
			 RAF 4 U website for young people www.raf4u.com 
			 RAF Community Website www.rafcom.co.uk/ 
			 RAF Reserves www.rafreserves.com 
			 Defence Storage and Distribution Agency www.dsda.org.uk/index.htm 
			 MOD Procurement Portal www.contracts.mod.uk 
			 Defence Academy www.da.mod.uk/DefenceAcademy 
			 Defence Aviation Safety Centre www.dasc.mod.uk/ 
			 Defence Bills Agency www.defencebills.gov.uk/ 
			 Defence Diversification Agency www.dda.gov.uk/ 
			 Defence Science and Technology Laboratory www.dstl.gov.uk/ 
			 Disposal Services Agency www.disposalservices.agency.mod.uk/ 
			 Army Base Repair Organization www.abro.mod.uk/ 
			 Meteorological Office http://www.metoffice.com/ 
			 UK Hydrographic Office http://www.ukho.gov.uk/ 
			 Defence Aviation Repair Agency www.daranet.co.uk 
		
	
	The reports in the following table were placed on the www.mod.uk. RAF and Navy corporate websites between 1 March 2006 and 31 March 2006.
	The complexity of the www.army.mod.uk domain means that a list of reports placed on the Army corporate internet site could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Title Paper copy available 
		
		
			 Military Aircraft Accident Summary ZA491 No 
			 AFPAA Corporate Plan 2005/2010 Yes 
			 MOD Personnel Manual Volume 12: Employee Relations Yes 
			 MOD Smoking Policy No 
			 PPPA Framework Document Yes 
			 PPPA Corporate Plan Yes 
			 PPPA Charter Yes 
			 Defence Estates Strategy 2006—In Trust On Trust Yes 
			 Defence Estates Strategy 2006—A Guide Yes 
			 Surface Warship Support—Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) No 
			 DBA Annual Report and Accounts 2004/05 Yes 
			 DSA Annual Report and Accounts 2004/05 PDF Yes 
			 MOD Public Service Agreement: Quarterly Reports to HM Treasury (April 03-March 06) Yes 
			 Historical Accounting for UK Defence Highly Enriched Uranium No 
			 AFPAA Corporate Plan 2005/2010 Yes 
			 Reconvened Board of Inquiry Report into the Death of Fusilier G C Gentle Royal Highland Fusiliers No 
			 Board of Inquiry Report into the Death of the Late 25035018 Lance Corporal of Horse Matthew Richard Hull No 
			 Annual Report on Safety, Health and Environmental Protection in MOD 2004–05 No 
			 Defence Estates Stewardship Report 2005 Yes

Hercules Aircraft

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received in the last five years on fitting reticulated foam devices to all Mk1 Hercules aircraft.

Adam Ingram: Any such representations would not be recorded centrally. We are aware of working level correspondence in 2000 about the possible fitting of 'self-sealing' fuel tanks to C-130s, but nothing further between them and the publication of the Board of Inquiry report into the crash of XV179. However, a comprehensive trawl of records could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.

Information Requests

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his timetable is for responding to Mr. D. Laybourne's request for an Internal Review of Request for Information (departmental reference 27–01–2005–154135–006); and what the reasons are for the delay in responding to this request beyond the deadline given by his Department on 1 February 2006.

Don Touhig: The internal review of the handling of Mr. Laybourne's request for information will be conducted when the request has been substantively answered. As my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces explained to him in a letter (reference D/MSU/2/5/1) dated 7 April 2005, the request cannot be answered until a departmental review of the Board of Inquiry report and associated papers relating to the sinking of HMS Sheffield is complete. Work on that review is well advanced, and we expect to be able to make the outcome known before the summer recess. Release of information should follow shortly afterwards.

Iraq

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military (a) fatalities and (b) casualties were sustained by personnel deployed to Iraq on Operation Telic in each month since March 2003; what the date was of each incident; and how many (i) deaths and (ii) casualties had been sustained in respect of each incident one week after the event.

John Reid: holding answer 22 March 2006
	The best information centrally available for Operation Telic fatalities and casualty statistics is published on the MOD website at: http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/OperationsInIraqBritishFatalities.htm.
	With one exception, all of the UK personnel listed died within one week of the incident occurring; the exception concerned an individual who was injured in a road traffic accident and subsequently died of his wounds in hospital in the UK three weeks later. We do not hold information on the status of casualties one week after the incident occurred.

Iraq

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the degree of ethnic and religious balance in Iraqi (a) police and (b) security forces of the (i) Ministry of Defence and (ii) Ministry of the Interior.

John Reid: In the Iraqi police service, which is provincial in structure, there is no formal system with which to track demographics. In the army, which recruits nationally, we estimate that six of the 10 divisions are overwhelmingly Arab, reflecting the ethnic mix in the areas from which they recruit, and of the remaining four, three are majority Kurdish. In the Iraqi Ministry of Defence, as at 1 April 2006, the distribution of senior posts is as follows:
	
		
			  Number Percentage 
		
		
			 Sunni Arab 15 26 
			 Shia Arab 38 66 
			 Kurdish 4 7 
			 Turkoman 1 1 
			 Total 58 100 
		
	
	Comparable information is not held for the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior.

Iraq

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 2 February 2006, Official Report, columns 704–05W, on Iraq, how many soldiers treated following service in Iraq had (a) physical injuries and (b) a mental illness.

John Reid: Between January 2003 and December 2005 inclusive, 1,551 UK service personnel who had served in Iraq on Operation Telic were subsequently assessed by the Defence medical services as suffering from a mental health disorder. This represents around 1.5 per cent. of total UK service personnel deployed to the region during the same period. Of those 1,551 personnel, 208 were assessed as suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. A further 696 personnel were diagnosed with an adjustment disorder, which will include some who have post traumatic symptoms not amounting to full PTSD but with some symptoms of post traumatic stress. Other personnel were diagnosed with a range of other mental health conditions, including mood and neurotic disorders, and psychoactive substance misuse.
	Figures on the total number of personnel treated following service in Iraq for physical injuries sustained in theatre are not collated centrally. Nor is it possible, for example, to break down the medical evacuation figure given in my previous answer of 2 February 2006, Official Report, column 704–05W, because the database which records the data does not contain information on treatment received after evacuation. Complete information on medical treatment could only be compiled from personal medical records which are held by individual unit commands. These can only be viewed for non-clinical reasons with the express consent of the individual concerned, to protect patient confidentiality. I cannot therefore give a figure for the total number of personnel treated following service in Iraq for physical injuries sustained in theatre.
	You may wish to note that an update of the figures I provided in my answer of 2 February 2006 has been published on the MOD website at: http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/OperationsInIraqBritishCasualties.htm.

Iraq

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what provision is being made for the long-term care of British soldiers returning from Iraq with a traumatic brain injury.

John Reid: The Defence Medical Services (DMS) has a range of referral options depending upon the nature of the medical treatment required. The DMS refers Service personnel with complex musculoskeletal or neurological needs requiring hospital care to one of the six Ministry of Defence Hospital Units (MDHUs) embedded within National Health Service (NHS) Trusts, or to a suitable non-MDHU NHS facility if the location and availability of clinical service is more socially convenient and clinically appropriate for the patient than MDHU care.
	If a traumatic brain injury is detected, the individual will be given appropriate medical treatment, including physical rehabilitation or psychiatric treatment, with the aim of returning them to duty. In serious cases where it becomes apparent that the individual will be unable to remain within the armed forces, personnel will be medically discharged (or demobilized in the case of reservists) and managed through the transition from military to NHS care.

Kieran Heggarty

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence who led the investigation into the death of Kieran Heggarty at Moscow army barracks on 19 February.

Don Touhig: The investigation into the death of Kieran Heggarty at Moscow Camp, Belfast on 19 February 2006 is being carried out by the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

RAF

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Eurofighters the UK plans to purchase; and how many will be used by the RAF.

Adam Ingram: The United Kingdom has, to date, contracted for 144 Eurofighter-Typhoon aircraft for use by the Royal Air Force. A decision by the Eurofighter Partner Nations on the third production buy of the aircraft (known as Tranche 3) is not required until at least 2007.

Military Appointments

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many appointments of one to five star general rank are (a) command and (b) staff appointments, broken down by service;
	(2)  how many appointments of one to five star general rank there are in his Department, broken down by service; and how many are (a) gapped and (b) unfilled, broken down by service.

Don Touhig: Please note that the following figures include tri-service posts that the single services fill on a rotational basis and are therefore a 'snap shot' of the manning situation at the end of April 2006.
	
		Royal Navy
		
			 Number 
			 Rank Officers Appointments held that are designated as Command Gapped posts Unfilled posts 
		
		
			 1 star 64 19 0 0 
			 2 star 30 9 0 0 
			 3 star 9 2 0 0 
			 4 star 3 2 0 0 
			 5 star 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		Army
		
			 Number 
			 Rank Officers Appointments held that are designated as Command Gapped posts Unfilled posts 
		
		
			 1 star 170 (3)58 0 0 
			 2 star 43 17 0 0 
			 3 star 9 8 0 0 
			 4 star 6 6 0 0 
			 5 star 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	(3) There are no gapped posts and no unfilled posts, although three of the appointments at 1* level are being filled by Colonels pending the correct Brigadier for the post.
	
		RAF
		
			 Number 
			 Rank Officers Appointments held that are designated as Command Gapped posts Unfilled posts 
		
		
			 1 star 82 15 1 0 
			 2 star 25 6 0 0 
			 3 star 7 3 0 0 
			 4 star 3 3 0 0 
			 5 star 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. A gapped post is defined as one where the post is currently vacant but there is a nominated future incumbent and an unfilled as a post where there is no officer yet nominated to take up the position.
	2. Please note that in line with MOD policy all figures over 100 have been rounded to the nearest 10.

Nevada Nuclear Test Site

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the contribution of the Vito and Krakatau subcritical tests to the US programme to sustain and improve the readiness to resume nuclear testing at the Nevada test site; and if he will make a statement.

John Reid: None. The purpose of tests such as Vito and Krakatau is solely to provide information to help maintain the safety and reliability of the existing nuclear weapon stockpile without the need to conduct underground nuclear tests.

Queen's Flight

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total cost was of the Queen's Flight in each of the last four financial years; how much of these costs were (a) fixed and (b) variable; and how many miles were flown by the Queen's Flight in each year.

Don Touhig: The total cost of the 32 (The Royal) Squadron in each of the last four financial years and the breakdown of these costs into (a) fixed and (b) variable costs are shown in the following table:
	
		Fixed and variable costs for 32 (The Royal) Squadron -- £ million
		
			 Financial year Fixed costs Variable costs Total 
		
		
			 2002–03 20.2 5.0 25.2 
			 2003–04 14.5 4.8 19.3 
			 2004–05 11.7 4.6 16.3 
			 2005–06 11.4 5.8 17.2 
		
	
	We are not able to provide a figure on how many miles are flown by 32 (The Royal) Squadron as this information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

US Missiles Projects

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions his Department has had with its counterparts in the US concerning (a) the W76–2 nuclear warhead design, (b) the Mk4A Reentry Body and (c) the Reliable Replacement Warhead project; and if he will make a statement.

John Reid: Officials from the Ministry of Defence regularly discuss a range of nuclear matters with their US counterparts under the auspices of the 1958 Mutual Defence Agreement.

Warrant Officer Michael White

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the result was of the coroner's inquest into the death of Warrant Officer Michael White held on 22 January.

Don Touhig: Inquest verdicts in Northern Ireland take the form of a statement of facts surrounding the death. I shall send a copy of the coroner's findings in relation to the death of Warrant Officer Michael White to the hon. Member and place a copy in the Library of the House.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Art Collection (Security)

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what financial losses have been suffered in each of the last five years from items having been stolen from the Government's art collection.

David Lammy: Within the last five years, financial losses of £240,000 occurred in 2001 as a result of the theft of five works of art in the Government art collection. These were stolen from the British ambassador's temporary residence in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Art Collection (Security)

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list items from the Government's art collection which have been recovered after having been stolen in the last five years.

David Lammy: The works of art which have been reported stolen from the Government art collection in the last five years have not been recovered.

Capita Group

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many tenders (a) Capita plc and (b) its subsidiaries have submitted to her Department in each of the last three years; and how many tenders were successful.

David Lammy: DCMS has not awarded any contracts to Capita plc or its subsidiaries in the last three years. Information on the numbers of tenders submitted could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Capita Group

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many contracts her Department holds with (a) Capita plc and (b) its subsidiaries which still have a potential duration of five years or more.

David Lammy: DCMS has no contracts with Capita plc or its subsidiaries for this period of time.

Charitable Fund

Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what the eligibility criteria will be of the charitable fund announced in the Budget to support British citizens affected by terrorist acts; and how the fund will operate;
	(2)  whether the charitable fund announced in the Budget to support British citizens affected by terrorist acts abroad will include financial help to the spouses of British soldiers killed in Iraq.

Tessa Jowell: I am replying as Minister responsible for humanitarian assistance of those affected by major emergencies. There is more work to be done on exactly how the fund will operate, and I continue to work in consultation with the voluntary sector, partners in Government and victims' groups to finalise the details. We hope to be able to make a further announcement in the summer.

Digital Television

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to her answer of 11 April 2006, Official Report, column 63W, on digital television, which organisation supplies a television licensable content service licence; what its criteria are for so doing; what criteria Ofcom uses for deciding on an application for a digital programme service licence; if she will list the platform operators for carriage of a channel; whether the Government has a role in respect of the criteria for the contract; what procedures are in place to control the power of a platform operator over price for carrying a channel; whether there is an appeal process if (a) the licence applications are turned down and (b) the platform operator refuses to carry the channel; and if she will make a statement.

James Purnell: Under the Communications Act 2003, Ofcom is responsible for the licensing of television licensable content services and section 235(3) of the Act sets out the criteria for doing so. Section 18 of the Broadcasting Act 1996 (as amended by paragraph 90 of Part 2 of Schedule 15 to the 2003 Act), sets out the criteria for Ofcom's licensing of digital programme services. Essentially, Ofcom can refuse the application only if precluded from granting it because they consider that the applicant is not a fit and proper person to hold a licence; by the rules on media ownership; or (in the case of a television licensable content service) if they are satisfied that the service would involve a breach of the programme standards or fairness and privacy codes under the Act.
	Having obtained a licence for the service, the licence holder then has to enter into a contractual agreement with a platform operator. Current platform operators are:
	Digital Terrestrial Television Multiplexes: Digital 3 and 4 Ltd; SDN Ltd; BBC Free to View Ltd.; and National Grid Wireless plc
	Cable Television: Telewest; ntl; and Wight Cable
	Satellite Television: BSkyB plc
	The price and conditions for carriage on a digital platform are based on contractual negotiations and subject to Ofcom regulation on certain aspects of the terms on which platform operators give access to programme service providers (in particular, to prevent discrimination). Further details are available from Ofcom. There is no right of appeal under broadcasting legislation if an application for a licence is refused, but there is the possibility of judicial review. Ofcom can consider a complaint if an operator refuses to carry channels on a platform if, for example, that is a breach of the operator's licence in the case of a multiplex, or if it raises an issue under competition law or the EU laws regulating access to platforms.
	The Government does not have a role to play in the licensing of broadcast services. Nor does it have a role in relation to the contractual agreements between service providers and platform operators, except in the limited case of must-carry" arrangements on cable TV services under section 64 of the Communications Act 2003, but no must-carry obligations are currently in force.

Diversity/Social Inclusion

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what targets her Department has set for public libraries to promote (a) diversity and (b) social inclusion.

David Lammy: There are no DCMS set targets for public libraries in these areas. However, by their very nature, public libraries are institutions that are safe, neutral and welcoming to all and most of the services they provide are free. Provisional DCMS adult participation data showed, for example, that adults from black and ethnic minority backgrounds had higher rates of attendance at public libraries than those from white ethnic backgrounds.
	In addition, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), one of DCMS's sponsored bodies, is leading on work to develop impact measures to encourage improved provision to whole communities including, for example, those who rely on home library services. This is in addition to the MLA's advice to library staff on matters such as addressing access and equal opportunities for people with disabilities.

East Midlands (Tourism Deficit)

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the estimated regional tourism deficit was for the East Midlands area in (a) money and (b) numbers of visitors in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

James Purnell: The estimated expenditure and visits from inbound, outbound and domestic tourism in the East Midlands are shown in the following tables. Figures are provided for 2000 to 2004, the latest year for which data are available.
	Expenditure
	
		Inbound and outbound tourism -- £ million
		
			  Overseas residents' spending in the East Midlands East Midlands residents' spending abroad Difference 
		
		
			 2000 250 1,475 -1,225 
			 2001 265 1,653 -1,388 
			 2002 285 1,688 -1,403 
			 2003 301 1,854 -1,553 
			 2004 448 2,027 -1,579 
		
	
	Source:
	International Passenger Survey (East Midlands = Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire)
	
		Domestic tourism -- £ million
		
			  UK residents' spending in the East Midlands East Midlands residents' spending in the UK (excluding East Midlands) Difference 
		
		
			 2000 1,169 1,621 -452 
			 2001 1,182 1,635 -453 
			 2002 1,385 1,694 -309 
			 2003 1,352 1,775 -423 
			 2004 1,201 1,514 -313 
		
	
	Source:
	United Kingdom Tourism Survey (East Midlands = East Midlands Development Agency Area)
	Visits
	
		Inbound and outbound tourism -- Thousands
		
			  Overseas residents' visits to the East Midlands East Midlands residents' visits abroad Difference 
		
		
			 2000 820 3,485 -2,665 
			 2001 788 3,880 -3,092 
			 2002 865 3,868 -3,003 
			 2003 984 4,129 -3,145 
			 2004 1,061 4,469 -3,408 
		
	
	Source:
	International Passenger Survey (East Midlands = Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire)
	
		Domestic tourism -- Thousands
		
			  UK residents' visits to the East Midlands East Midlands residents' visits in the UK (excluding East Midlands) Difference 
		
		
			 2000 10,499 9,758 741 
			 2001 9,577 10,268 -691 
			 2002 10,914 10,451 463 
			 2003 9,613 8,993 620 
			 2004 8,032 7,220 812 
		
	
	Source:
	United Kingdom Tourism Survey (East Midlands = East Midlands Development Agency Area)
	These tables exclude expenditure and visits by domestic leisure day visitors as these figures are not available over the required time period. Please note the latter two tables refer to number of visits not visitors.
	Sample sizes at regional levels will be small and so estimates will be subject to a high margin of error. Caution should therefore be exercised when interpreting the data.
	United Kingdom Tourism Survey data for 2004 should be treated with particular caution owing to concerns about the methodology used to produce these figures. An extensive review of this survey has since taken place and a new methodology has been adopted.
	Due to the level of non-response to the question of area of residence on the International Passenger Survey, figures for expenditure and visits by East Midlands residents abroad are likely to be slightly under-estimated.

Gambling

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps the Gambling Commission will take to ensure that the findings of the prevalence study are sufficiently robust to allow Parliament fully to consider the causes of problem gambling by gambling type.

Richard Caborn: No gambling prevalence study, on its own, can identify the causes of problem gambling. However, a series of studies, carried out with regularity and consistency, such as those planned by the Gambling Commission, can provide data to assist in the identification of factors which are associated with an enhanced risk of problem gambling.

High Definition Television

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of new television sets being sold are estimated to be high definition ready.

James Purnell: According to Ofcom, around 40 per cent. of 'high-end' TV sales (plasma, LCD, rear projection) are now estimated to be high definition ready. We do not have a figure for the percentage of total TV sales, but it would be lower.

Licensing

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received on the impact of the Licensing Act 2003 in South East London; and if she will make a statement.

James Purnell: The Department has received a number of representations concerning the impact of the Licensing Act 2003 in South East London, Last year I received a representation about the Act from the hon. Member, enclosing correspondence from a constituent about carol singing under the Licensing Act 2003, to which I replied on 6 March 2006.
	We are currently monitoring and evaluating the impact of the Licensing Act 2003 nationally, but it is too early as yet to draw firm conclusions.

Licensing

Edward Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether an assessment has been made of the impact of the change in licensing hours on the (a) Wakefield district and (b) Normanton constituency; and if she will make a statement.

James Purnell: The Department has made no specific assessment of the impact of the change in licensing hours on the Wakefield district or the Normanton constituency. We are currently monitoring and evaluating the impact of the Licensing Act 2003 nationally, but it is too early as yet to draw firm conclusions.

Licensing

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the impact of the change in licensing hours in (a) Coventry South and (b) the West Midlands region as a whole.

James Purnell: The Department has made no specific assessment of the impact of the change in licensing hours in Coventry South and the West Midlands region. We are currently monitoring and evaluating the impact of the Licensing Act 2003 nationally, but it is too early as yet to draw firm conclusions.

Millennium Projects

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the millennium projects with a capital cost in excess of £25 million; and what the (a) deficit and (b) surplus was of each project for each financial year since 2000.

Richard Caborn: Millennium Commission funded projects with a total capital cost of over £25 million are set out in the table.
	The Commission monitors projects to satisfy itself that capital assets funded by lottery grant remain in use, and requires projects to provide it with their annual reports and to notify it if they cease operating or become insolvent. To date, three projects out of 223 supported by the Commission have ceased to operate. However, information about the individual performance of each project is not held centrally.
	
		
			 Project name Total project grant £ Project cost £ 
		
		
			 The New Millennium Experience 602,673,592 789,000,000 
			 The Eden Project 56,374,862 116,720,971 
			 Tate Modern 51,357,700 136,288,768 
			 Millennium Point 50,499,058 112,857,055 
			 At-Bristol 47,666,774 104,409,948 
			 Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 46,360,000 141,000,000 
			 The Odyssey Project 45,681,575 92,815,477 
			 National Cycle Network 44,127,202 208,433,110 
			 The Renaissance of Portsmouth Harbour 40,016,693 97,561,291 
			 The Glasgow Science Centre 37,303,983 76,933,109 
			 UHI Millennium Institute 35,869,000 99,732,265 
			 The Millennium Link 33,814,810 84,541,876 
			 International Centre for Life 33,408,137 67,060,771 
			 The Forum 32,476,600 67,978,065 
			 National Space Centre 32,375,123 84,892,973 
			 Wales Millennium Centre 31,700,000 108,173,704 
			 The British Museum Great Court 30,000,000 62,755,913 
			 The Millennium Seed Bank 27,399,401 83,410,000 
			 The Deep 24,256,803 52,536,365 
			 Hampden—Scotland's 'Field of Dreams' 24,200,000 60,000,000 
			 Magna 23,108,558 45,837,456 
			 Changing Places 22,911,339 58,267,855 
			 Sheffield—Remaking the Heart of the City 22,700,279 45,221,155 
			 National Botanic Garden of Wales 22,243,375 43,110,000 
			 The Lowdry 20,951,000 106,310,000 
			 Manchester Millennium Quarter 20,090,000 43,901,562 
			 Our Dynamic Earth 18,070,933 39,147,902 
			 The Huddersfield Narrow Canal 14,851,241 32,836,000 
			 Mile End Park 14,722,009 33,166,075 
			 Millennium Coastal Park 13,750,000 29,900,000 
			 Durham Millennium City 13,334,713 28,689,063 
			 Rochdale Canal Restoration 11,923,000 25,703,400 
			 Millennium Forest for Scotland 11,532,003 29,198,917 
			 The Phoenix Initiative 10,614,500 28,211,042 
			 21st Century Halls for England 10,543,728 26,392,551 
			 Golden Jubilee Bridges 8,684,000 52,022,885 
			 Reviving Spa Culture 7,853,984 28,607,100 
			 Trans Pennine Trail 6,370,368 25,618,269 
			 Rich Mix Centre 5,050,000 25,850,000

NDPBs/Agencies

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which (a) non-departmental public bodies and (b) executive agencies for which she is responsible have been subject to a peer review in 2005–06; what the (i) purpose, (ii) terms of reference and (iii) outcome was of each review; and what reference to the outcome of the review has been made when making funding decisions for those organisations.

Tessa Jowell: During 2005–06 one full peer review was undertaken, of Arts Council England (ACE), plus a one-day follow-up review of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA). The purpose of peer review is to take an independent, strategic view of an organisation's effectiveness and capacity, in order to help that organisation improve its performance.
	The terms of reference and the report of the ACE peer review can be found on the ACE website www.artscouncil.org.uk/peerreview. The conclusions of the review will be taken into account in drawing up the funding agreement between DCMS and Arts Council England for the 2006–08 period.
	The MLA follow-up review concluded that the MLA had made considerable progress towards implementing the recommendations of the original peer review, but that MLA and DCMS would have to work together closely to deliver the full, challenging agenda. The peer review conclusions underpin the current funding agreement between DCMS and MLA.

Shooting Training

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations her Department has made to the Home Office concerning a possible relaxation of the handgun legislation to enable Olympic target shooters to train in the country.

Richard Caborn: The Department is committed to supporting its very best athletes, and looks carefully at reducing any barriers that may restrict the development of talent.
	In the case of the sport of shooting, the Firearms Amendment Act (1997) has limited the practice of three of the 15 shooting disciplines defined as an Olympic sport.
	In light of representations from the sport, this matter has been brought to the attention of the Home Secretary. He has been asked to consider ways in which our Olympic hopefuls in those three disciplines affected under the current legislation may be able to train in Britain, while respecting the very important issue of public safety.

Shooting Training

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of the money recently awarded by UK Sport to shooting will be used to fund the costs of training outside the UK.

Richard Caborn: UK Sport's total allocation of £4.817 million to the sport of shooting between 2006–9, announced in April, is based on its investment model which calculates how many athletes should be supported at each stage of the performance pathway in order to deliver a potential number of medals in that sport.
	The allocation per athlete is calculated according to a number of criteria, including the cost of training in the UK and the cost of training and competing abroad.
	These costs have been averaged across all the sports, which means that each national governing body has some flexibility about how it allocates the funding to its athletes, while being required to deliver against a set of agreed milestones.
	Great Britain Target Shooting Federation, the national governing body, in discussion with UK Sport, is in the process of planning precisely how it will spend its allocation across the world class talent, development and podium programmes. It is estimated that this process will take approximately three months.
	However, for those high performance athletes on UK sport's world class performance programme over the course of the Athens cycle (2001–05), we understand that target shooting spent approximately £375,000 on funding the cost of training and competing abroad. UK Sport estimate that the cost of overseas training alone was in the region of £155,000.

Sports Funding (Coventry)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what central Government funding has been allocated to sport in Coventry in each of the last eight years.

Richard Caborn: Financial support for sport from public sources is primarily channelled through Sport England and UK Sport, the two DCMS sponsored bodies which award Lottery grants and dispense Exchequer funds for sport from DCMS.
	Sport England
	The table shows the Exchequer and Lottery funding which Sport England has awarded to Coventry between 1997 and 2005.
	
		£
		
			  Lottery(4)awards Exchequer awards Total for year 
		
		
			 1997 1,781,993 — 1,781,993 
			 1998 552,787 — 552,787 
			 1999 181,954 — 181,954 
			 2000 — 58,000 58,000 
			 2001 741,908 40,000 781,908 
			 2002 339,477 12,000 352,477 
			 2003 1,120,355 — 1,120,355 
			 2004 383,125 — 383,125 
			 2005 2,732,678 — 2,732,678 
		
	
	(4) The figures provided include Lottery awards made through programmes such as: Community Capital, Community Investment Fund, Active Communities Development Fund, Active Sports, Active England, Community Athletics Refurbishment Programme, Sport Action Zones and Green Spaces. They also include mixed Lottery and Exchequer awards made through programmes such as: School Sports Partnerships and Space for Sport and Arts.
	UK Sport
	It is not possible for UK Sport to determine an amount of Lottery or Exchequer funding allocated to Coventry as its funding is not directed to specific regions.

Sports Infrastructure (Northamptonshire)

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions her officials have had with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on the provision of appropriate sports infrastructure in Northamptonshire in connection with growth area housing expansion.

Richard Caborn: My officials are in regular contact with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister about the development of all four housing growth areas including Milton Keynes South Midlands.
	On the provision of appropriate sports provision for the area, Sport England, my Department's lead delivery agency, is working closely with regional and local government. In 2005 the Government launched Living Spaces"; guidance for Local Delivery Vehicles on culture and sustainable communities in the MKSM Growth which was developed by a number of DCMS's NDPBs including Sport England.
	A copy of the guide can be downloaded from the Culture South East website at:
	http://www.culturesoutheast.org.uk/media/uploads/18/final%20april05living%20spaces.pdf

Telephone Advice Lines

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many telephone advice lines her Department and its non-departmental public bodies support; how many telephone advisers each employs; and how much funding is provided to each by (a) her Department and its non-departmental public bodies, (b) other Government departments, (c) the private sector and (d) the voluntary sector.

David Lammy: My Department does not hold the information requested. The question could be answered only at disproportionate cost.

Television Companies (Financial Returns)

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  whether Ofcom has received and reviewed financial returns from all relevant television companies over the last five years;
	(2)  if she will make a statement on the approach Ofcom takes where (a) a television company fails to provide required returns and (b) issues are found with the returns provided;
	(3)  if she will make a statement on Ofcom's system for receiving and reviewing financial returns from relevant television companies.

James Purnell: The matter raised is the responsibility of the Office of Communications (Ofcom), as independent regulator for the communications sector. Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of Ofcom to reply directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the chief executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Television Licences

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for Maldon and East Chelmsford (Mr. Whittingdale) of 27 February 2006, Official Report, column 221W, on television licences, when her Department will publish the expert analysis it has commissioned from PKF; and if she will make a statement.

James Purnell: The independent report by PKF Review of the BBC value for money and efficiency programmes" was published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 26 April 2006.

Television Licences

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the television licence fee crude evasion rates were for (a) England, Scotland and Wales and (b) Northern Ireland at the end of February (i) 2005 and (ii) 2006.

James Purnell: The Department for Culture, Media and Support does not collect so-called crude evasion estimates. I have therefore asked the BBC's head of revenue management to consider the questions raised by the hon. Member and to write to him direct. Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Alternative Energy

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to promote the use of alternative, permanent sources of energy; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government main mechanism to support renewable generation is the renewables obligation (RO). The RO is simply a way of making all electricity suppliers obtain an increasing amount of their electricity from renewable sources of electricity.
	In addition to the RO, renewables are also supported by around £500 million of investment between 2002–08 to help develop renewables and other low carbon technologies. This will take the form of spending on RD&D and funding for capital grants and includes: grants of £117 million for offshore wind; over £60 million for energy crops and biomass; £31 million for solar PV and £12.5 million for community/domestic schemes; £50 million for the Marine Renewables Deployment Fund—£42 million of which has been earmarked to kick-start construction of large-scale demonstration farms that will for the first time see wave and tidal power feeding into the national grid.

British Airports Authority

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made in relation to competition policy of the tax treatment of goodwill in Spain; what assessment he has made of the implications of the tax treatment for (a) British companies, (b) (i) EU and (ii) domestic policy on mergers and acquisitions and (c) the recent bid by Spanish consortium group Ferrarial for the British Airports Authority.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 27 April 2006
	We have noted that the Commission found this scheme to be an illegal state aid. We naturally give very careful consideration to the state aid implications when formulating UK tax measures.
	Mergers are a matter for the appropriate competition authority.

Cold Calling

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department has taken to tackle cold-calling from countries outside the European Union in the past five years.

Alun Michael: The Department introduced the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) scheme in 1999, under the Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy) Regulations, which were updated by Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations in 2003. The TPS scheme provides protection to consumers from cold calling if they have previously notified the caller that they do not wish to receive such calls or have been registered with the TPS for at least 28 days. Those making cold calls from within the UK or on behalf of UK companies from outside the European Union are legally required not to call a number that has registered on the TPS list. However, cold calls from non-UK companies marketing a service or product are not covered by the TSP scheme, as the companies and products have no link with the UK. The Information Commissioner has responsibility for the enforcement of the TPS scheme and considers complaints about breaches.

Commission for Equality and Human Rights

Shahid Malik: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what (a) powers and (b) duties the Commission for Equality and Human Rights will have to deal with tackling (i) basic community relations, (ii) extremism, (iii) terrorism and (iv) race relations at a local level.

Meg Munn: The Government are committed to ensuring that the new commission is able to serve all the communities it will work with. A focus on basic community relations will be at the heart of the commissions work and a key priority for Government.
	New powers will be introduced to allow the commission greater flexibility in the enforcement of public duties.
	The Equality Act (S.10) confers a duty on the CEHR to encourage good practice and promote understanding of the importance of good relations between members of different groups and between members of groups and others. The CEHR will have a responsibility to work towards the elimination of prejudice against, hatred of and hostility towards members of groups, enabling all individuals to participate in society. While there are six 'equality strands': race, faith, sexual orientation, gender, disability and age, the Act allows for the number of 'groups' to be extended.
	To carry this out the CEHR (S.19 of the Act) will have new powers to monitor, as well as to make, co-operate with or assist in any arrangements designed to reduce hate crimes. We would expect the Commission to undertake activities to involve members of community groups.
	Extremism while not directly within the remit of the CEHR may be a by-product of poor relations between communities and associated with hate crime. Consequently work to strengthen the bonds between different groups will contribute to our efforts in combating it.
	Terrorism is outside of the CEHR's scope.
	The CEHR will have particular regard to the importance of its work with different groups. This reflects the historical origins of the good relations" duty, which the Commission for Racial Equality is required to promote. The CEHR is uniquely placed to build bridges between different communities—this work will build on the CRE's local race equality work, undertaken through the network of race equality councils and others.

Company Registration

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many registered companies have issued stock.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 27 April 2006
	Section 121(c) of the Companies Act 1985 permits a company to convert any or all of its paid up shares into stock, and reconvert that stock into paid-up shares of any denomination. There are no available figures on the number of existing registered companies that have used this procedure. However, the ability to convert shares into stock is believed to be obsolete.

Company Registration

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of medium-sized companies registered in the UK are (a) public companies and (b) public listed companies.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 27 April 2006
	The information requested is not available. The only authoritative source we would have for information of this sort is through the number of filings of accounts made by medium-sized companies with the Registrar of Companies. A medium-sized company is defined for the purposes of special accounting provisions of the Companies Act 1985 as a company that satisfies at least two of three requirements: turnover of not more than £22.8 million, balance sheet total of not more than £11.4 million, and number of employees totalling not more than 250. Such companies can take advantage of certain accounting and reporting exemptions in the accounts and reports they prepare for members and file with the Registrar of Companies. However, public (including public listed) companies are excluded from these special provisions, and, so, cannot qualify to file as medium-sized. Since no public companies can file medium-sized accounts with the Registrar, it is not possible to estimate the proportion of medium-sized companies that are public companies.

Departmental Websites

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list (a) the websites operated by his Department and (b) the reports placed on the internet in March 2006, indicating in each case whether paper copies were also made available.

Alan Johnson: We operate one core DTI website, www.dti.gov.uk, and within that there are links to a wider community of websites managed by partner agencies and other arms-length bodies. There are 42 DTI websites hosted by other domains and a list of these has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
	There were 67 departmental publications notified to the Publications Team and placed on the DTI website in March 2006; of these 21 were made available as paper copies.
	A list has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

EU Commissioner for External Trade

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he last met the EU Commissioner for External Trade; how many times in the last 12 months he has met him; when he next expects to meet him; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State has met Peter Mandelson, the European Trade Commissioner, on several occasions over the last 12 months, to discuss current trade policy issues, including ways to secure an ambitious, pro-development outcome to the Doha Development Agenda.

EU Committees

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the UK members of the (a) EU anti-dumping and anti-subsidy committee, (b) Article 133 committee and (c) Customs Union committee.

Ian Pearson: The UK member of the EU anti-dumping and anti-subsidy committee is Eugene MacAleese, of the Europe and World Trade Directorate's Trade Defence Unit.
	For information on UK membership of the Article 133 committee I refer the right hon. Member to my answer of 28 November 2005, Official Report, column 93W.
	Attendance at the Customs Union committee is the responsibility of HM Revenue and Customs.

EU Directives/Regulations

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 27 March 2006 to the hon. Member for Salisbury (Mr. Key), Official Report, column 640W, on EU directives/regulations, if he will seek an exemption from the Restriction of Hazardous Substances directive for lead used in the pipes of pipe organs which rely on electricity to operate.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department of Trade and Industry has sought clarification from the European Commission as to whether pipe organs fall under the scope of the directive. If the Commission concludes that they do, the Department stands ready to work with the industry to build a suitable exemption request.

EU Directives/Regulations

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made in the context of regulations under the EU Restrictions of Hazardous Substances Directive of the environmental effects of the use of lead in organ pipes; what estimate he has made of the proportion of such pipes which (a) are disposed of by landfill and (b) are recycled by organ builders; and what estimate he has made of the value to the economy of the pipe organ industry.

Malcolm Wicks: No estimates have been undertaken in relation to the pipe organ industry.

EU Directives/Regulations

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what response he has received from the pipe organ industry following his Department's offer of assistance with a formal application under article 5.1b for the exemption of new pipe organs from the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive.

Malcolm Wicks: The UK pipe organ industry has yet to submit a formal exemption application. We stand ready to help them if they choose to do so.

EU Directives/Regulations

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  if he will establish a review of the EU waste electrical and electronic equipment directive in respect of the use of lead in (a) the maintenance, restoration and upgrading of existing pipe organs and (b) the construction and building of new pipe organs;
	(2)  whether the EU waste electrical and electronic equipment directive will be reviewed in 2008 in respect of its application to traditional pipe organs.

Malcolm Wicks: The waste electrical and electronic equipment directive is due to be reviewed by the European Commission in 2008. The Restriction of Hazardous Substances directive draws its scope from the WEEE directive.
	The Department of Trade and Industry has sought clarification from the European Commission as to whether pipe organs fall under the scope of the directives. If the Commission concludes that they do, the Department stands ready to work with the industry to build a suitable exemption request.

EU Directives/Regulations

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  how many (a) public officials and (b) contractors will be employed on the enforcement of the EU waste electrical and electronic equipment directive in respect of (i) existing and (ii) new-build traditional pipe organs from 1 July 2006;
	(2)  what enforcement machinery is (a) in place and (b) in preparation in respect of the EU waste electrical and electronic equipment directive as it applies to (i) existing and (ii) new build traditional pipe organs from 1 July 2006

Malcolm Wicks: The UK has not yet transposed the WEEE directive into national law, whilst the UK Restriction of Hazardous Substances Regulations come into force on 1 July 2006 and will be enforced by the National Weights & Measures Laboratory.
	Existing pipe organs are not covered by the Restriction of Hazardous Substances directive and the Department of Trade and Industry has sought clarification from the European Commission as to whether new pipe organs fall under the scope of the directives. If the Commission concludes that they do, the Department stands ready to work with the industry to build a suitable exemption request.

EU Directives/Regulations

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what research his Department and its agencies are funding into alternative materials to lead in the construction and maintenance of traditional pipe organs;
	(2)  if he will commission research into the use of alternative materials to lead in the construction and maintenance of traditional pipe organs and the building of new pipe organs.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department has no plans to commission research into alternative materials to lead in the construction and maintenance of traditional pipe organs.

EU Directives/Regulations

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 30 March 2006, Official Report, column 1139W, to the hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew) on lead organ pipes, what progress has been made in assisting the organ building and repair industry to apply to the European Commission for a total exemption for the manufacture of new pipe organs from the provisions of the restriction of hazardous substances directive.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department of Trade and Industry has sought clarification from the European Commission as to whether pipe organs fall under the scope of the directive. If the Commission concludes that they do, the Department stands ready to work with the industry to build a suitable exemption request.

Export Credits Guarantee Department

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the (a) banks and (b) companies which have been involved in Export Credits Guarantee Department supported projects since 2000, stating in each case the project concerned.

Ian Pearson: This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Since 2000, ECGD's Annual Review and Resource Accounts have listed guarantees issued in each financial year.

Financial Advice Initiatives

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what initiatives his Department and its non-departmental bodies support to promote (a) financial education, (b) financial advice, (c) financial inclusion and (d) financial capability; which organisations are involved in delivering each initiative; and how much funding is provided to each by (i) his Department and its non-departmental public bodies, (ii) other Government departments, (iii) the private sector and (iv) the voluntary sector.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Department recognises the importance of tackling financial exclusion in the areas mentioned and provides support to the following:
	National Debtline
	The DTI provides Elm p.a. to this free telephone advice line. This is alongside £500,000 in 2005–06 increasing to £800,000 in 2006–07 from the DCA, and £100,000 per annum from the Scottish Executive. The private sector has pledged £1.7 million p.a. to fund National Debtline.
	Business Debtline
	The Small Business Service contributes £100,000 per annum to Business Debtline with the private sector contributing £180,000 per annum. Business Debtline is now under the same roof as National Debtline and is benefiting from shared infrastructure and economies of scale. Both services are run by the Money Advice Trust.
	Face-to-Face Debt Advice Project
	The DTI is running this project, to increase substantially debt advice, with £45 million from the Treasury's Financial Inclusion Fund over the two Financial Years 2006–08. There are 14 projects being delivered by a mixture of Citizens Advice Bureaux (CABx) and other independent advice agencies.
	National Consumer Council
	Last year the DTI provided approximately £3.9 million funding for the NCC, including the Scottish and Welsh Consumer Councils. The NCC has a particular remit to represent disadvantaged consumers which runs through all their work. In addition, one of their corporate objectives is to make markets work for vulnerable and disadvantaged consumers. Within the current work stream the NCC has three projects relating specifically to financial inclusion—improvements to basic bank accounts; increasing choice and appropriateness in payment methods for essential services; and extending access to affordable credit. The NCC also keeps a watching brief on issues such as financial capability, financial education and financial advice.
	Citizens Advice/Citizens Advice Scotland
	Last year the DTI provided approximately £26 million but funding this year is still to be settled. This grant in aid is provided by DTI on behalf of the whole of Government (around 15 Departments). These are both independent charities providing HQ support services for the network of locally funded CABx.

Hearing Loss Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the number of cases where payments by his Department to representatives of successful claimants for noise-induced hearing loss compensation have not been (a) notified and (b) paid to the claimant.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department, as defendant in hearing loss cases, has no information on dealings between claimants and their representatives.

Home Information Packs

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what research the Office of Fair Trading has (a) undertaken and (b) plans to undertake into (i) home information packs and (ii) the electronic provision of property information.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Office of Fair Trading, John Fingleton, to reply to the hon. Member.

Late Accounts

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the proposed timetable is for the Department to consult on the civil penalties for companies which file accounts and reports late.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 27 April 2006
	Clause 431 of the Company Law Reform Bill (which is currently being considered in another place) provides for the Secretary of State to make regulations determining
	(a) the amount of civil penalties for late filing of accounts and reports with the Registrar of Companies, and
	(b) the periods by reference to which those penalties are to be determined.
	The Department intends to consult on draft regulations under the clause as soon as possible after the Bill receives Royal Assent.

Martin Centre for Architectural and Urban Studies

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what funding the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council has provided to the Cambridge University Martin Centre for Architectural and Urban Studies on research into suburban development issues; and what research has been published.

Barry Gardiner: The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has provided £1.91 million to the Cambridge Martin Centre for Architectural and Urban Studies (the Martin Centre") for research broadly in support of 'suburban development'. This comprises a travel grant for £5,000 in 2002 and a scoping study for £154,000 in 2003, which led to a major programme grant for £1.75 million awarded in 2004. This grant, funded as part of EPSRC's Towards a Sustainable Urban Environment" programme, will support research by a large consortium, led by the Martin Centre, which aims to investigate Sustainability Of Land Use and Transport In Outer Neighbourhoods—SOLUTIONS, by considering how far, and by what means, towns and cities can be planned so that they are socially inclusive, economically efficient and environmentally sustainable.
	It is the responsibility of academic researchers to publicise the outcomes of their research through appropriate channels. EPSRC has not yet been provided with publications information on this current project.

Migrant Workers

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will establish a migrant workers helpline for the reporting of (a) poor working conditions and (b) worker intimidation in west Lancashire.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Legal migrant workers are entitled to the same employment rights as other UK workers. The ACAS Helpline (08457 47 47 47) can provide free, impartial, practical advice to any worker who has concerns about their treatment in the workplace. We have also sought to work with new European member states to provide their workers with bi-lingual leaflets giving guidance aimed at helping workers before they leave home and information on sources of assistance should they have difficulties once in the UK. To date we have prepared leaflets in partnership with Poland and Lithuania.
	The Department is currently reviewing the total current provision of Government-funded helplines for workers and employees. We are looking at how well this provision meets customer needs, especially the needs of the most vulnerable, and we will consider options for improvement. The first phase of this review will be completed this summer.
	We have also recently launched new web pages at www.direct.gov.uk/employees to provide a central, easy to understand resource for individuals seeking information about their employment rights.
	Within the north west, the Transport and General Workers' Union has led the creation of the North West Migrant Workers' Institute that brings together employers, public agencies, voluntary organisations and unions in the north west. The Institute's aims include collating and promoting best practice in the employment of migrant workers, providing a region-wide reference point for support and services for migrant workers and their communities, and identifying specific training needs among migrant workers and upskilling opportunities.

Miners' Compensation

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what reasons there is a six month wait for home medical visits by Atos Origin for miners claiming compensation.

Malcolm Wicks: Generally, around 90 per cent. of home visits are arranged within six months.
	Before a home visit is arranged, the Medical, British Coal and Department of Work and Pensions records are obtained. This is generally completed within three months. However delays may occur where record holders do not respond quickly or where records cannot be traced or obtained. Once the records are obtained or there is evidence that they are no longer in existence, contact is made with the claimant to book a visit. In cases where there are no problems obtaining the records or obtaining a GP certificate it would be expected that an appointment would normally be completed within six months of being requested.
	Procedures are in place to monitor performance and to ensure requests progress through the record collection and booking process. Claimants with short life expectancy (less than two years) are given priority and this process is monitored for compliance.

Miners' Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many claims for noise induced hearing loss have been submitted to his Department; how many have been paid out; and in how many costs are in dispute.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 27 April 2006
	38,788 hearing loss claims have been registered of which 29,959 have been settled by payment. It is not possible to state precisely in how many claims costs are disputed though it is in the region of 500.

Miners' Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the 50 firms of solicitors which have received the most in fees for cases of claims for (a) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, (b) vibration white finger and (c) noise induced hearing loss.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 27 April 2006
	The 50 solicitors who have received the most in costs for each of the listed claim types are set out in the following tables:
	
		
			 Solicitor Total solicitors costs paid (£) 
		
		
			 COPD  
			 Thompsons 85,830,628 
			 Beresfords Solicitors 70,751,898 
			 Hugh James Ford Simey 65,255,244 
			 Raleys Solicitors 50,752,140 
			 Mark Gilbert Morse 42,735,727 
			 Browell Smith and Co. 36,363,343 
			 Watson Burton 22,724,256 
			 Union of Democratic Mineworkers / Vendside 21,810,230 
			 Graysons 20,830,700 
			 Avalon 17,204,860 
			 Randell Lloyd Jenkins and Martin 13,804,372 
			 The Legal Warehouse 12,385,897 
			 Barber and Co. 12,200,678 
			 Corries 11,632,263 
			 Ingrams Solicitors 11,474,807 
			 Towells Solicitors 11,155,952 
			 Irwin Mitchell 10,443,086 
			 Moss Solicitors 9,737,567 
			 AMS Law 9,682,353 
			 German Hamilton Solicitors 7,481,733 
			 Kidd and Spoor Harper Solicitors 7,456,424 
			 Wake Smith 7,250,689 
			 Birchall Blackburn 6,498,933 
			 O. H. Parsons 5,987,502 
			 BRM Solicitors 5,699,904 
			 Atteys 5,682,298 
			 Delta Legal 5,077,799 
			 Shaw and Co. Solicitors 3,852,586 
			 Simpson Millar Solicitors 3,394,614 
			 Furley Page 3,391,111 
			 Hilary Meredith Solicitors 3,387,546 
			 Thompson and Co. Solicitors 2,933,588 
			 T. S. Edwards and Son Solicitors 2,860,145 
			 Mortons Solicitors 2,806,607 
			 Morisons Solicitors 2,642,435 
			 Proddow and Mackay Solicitors 2,635,724 
			 Latham and Co. Solicitors 2,617,402 
			 Marrons Solicitors 2,558,428 
			 Capital Law 2,515,352 
			 Hopkins 2,480,882 
			 Meloy Whittle Robinson 2,477,294 
			 Onyems and Partners 2,381,516 
			 Hickmotts Solicitors 2,147,313 
			 Keeble Hawson Moorhouse 2,054,150 
			 Oxley and Coward Solicitors 1,948,969 
			 Saffmans Solicitors 1,942,545 
			 Blackett Hart and Pratt Solicitors 1,839,602 
			 Morgan Cole 1,801,550 
			 Hindle Campbell Solicitors 1,574,656 
			 Gorvin Smith Fort 1,537,690 
			   
			 VWF  
			 Thompsons 11,479,303 
			 Browell Smith and Co. 9,589,891 
			 Raleys Solicitors 7,622,747 
			 Hugh James Ford Simey 6,546,774 
			 Union of Democratic Mineworkers / Vendside 6,021,390 
			 Graysons 4,588,150 
			 Beresfords Solicitors 3,983,583 
			 Watson Burton 3,506,950 
			 Moss Solicitors 3,272,467 
			 Towells Solicitors 3,046,481 
			 Kidd and Spoor Harper Solicitors 2,158,859 
			 Atteys 2,155,684 
			 AMS Law 2,096,526 
			 O. H. Parsons 1,657,193 
			 Irwin Mitchell 1,573,908 
			 Saffmans Solicitors 1,545,589 
			 Shaw and Co. Solicitors 1,441,903 
			 Capital Law 1,319,902 
			 Corries 1,170,324 
			 McLeish Carswell 1,159,343 
			 Oxley and Coward Solicitors 1,133,135 
			 Latham and Co. Solicitors 1,066,796 
			 T. S. Edwards and Son Solicitors 926,709 
			 Hickmotts Solicitors 842,604 
			 Motions Solicitors 810,048 
			 Thompson and Co. Solicitors 760,212 
			 Hopkins 756,779 
			 Marrons Solicitors 651,615 
			 Keeble Hawson Moorhouse 597,126 
			 German Hamilton Solicitors 596,224 
			 Morisons Solicitors 528,024 
			 Randell Lloyd Jenkins and Martin 519,560 
			 Furley Page 470,575 
			 Meloy Whittle Robinson 429,408 
			 The Legal Warehouse 370,818 
			 Gabb and Co. 368,711 
			 Endlars Solicitors 342,618 
			 Frank Alien Pennington Solicitors 324,931 
			 Treanors Solicitors 282,868 
			 Mincoffs 274,819 
			 Gorvin Smith Fort 258,837 
			 Branton Bridge 254,849 
			 Russell Young Solicitors 216,822 
			 Robinson King Solicitors 213,944 
			 Blackett Hart and Pratt Solicitors 206,401 
			 Wake Smith 199,842 
			 Richmonds Solicitors 165,810 
			 J. Keith Park and Co. Solicitors 164,937 
			 Ross Harper Solicitors 151,248 
			 Canter Levin and Berg Solicitors 148,347 
			   
			 NIHL  
			 Union of Democratic Mineworkers / Vendside 6,301,334 
			 Beresfords Solicitors 2,859,764 
			 Graysons 2,610,748 
			 Moss Solicitors 1,336,475 
			 Browell Smith and Co. 938,526 
			 Thompsons 876,167 
			 Heptonstalls Solicitors LLP 671,024 
			 Browns 596,733 
			 Hugh James Ford Simey 594,424 
			 Towells Solicitors 534,704 
			 Kidd and Spoor Harper Solicitors 514,859 
			 O. H. Parsons 492,106 
			 Avalon 392,846 
			 Irwin Mitchell 387,490 
			 Corries 367,697 
			 AMS Law 367,219 
			 Latham and Co. Solicitors 327,583 
			 DMH Stallard 294,972 
			 Watson Burton 278,345 
			 BRM Solicitors 270,928 
			 Morisons Solicitors 263,592 
			 Hickmotts Solicitors 262,535 
			 Mortons Solicitors 231,800 
			 Pinto Potts Solicitors 218,833 
			 Raleys Solicitors 206,864 
			 Meloy Whittle Robinson 156,007 
			 Barber Cartain Solicitors 155,077 
			 Holmes and Hills Solicitors 150,629 
			 Endlars Solicitors 146,135 
			 Wake Smith 129,825 
			 Saffmans Solicitors 122,522 
			 Gorvin Smith Fort 122,178 
			 Oxley and Coward Solicitors 121,434 
			 The Legal Warehouse 116,088 
			 Harrowell Shaftoe 112,697 
			 Morrish and Co. Solicitors 96,942 
			 Colemans Solicitors 81,496 
			 Gorman Hamilton Solicitors 81,419 
			 Capital Law 80,638 
			 Marrons Solicitors 80,257 
			 Gabb and Co. 64,042 
			 Simpson Millar Solicitors 63,614 
			 Shaw and Co. Solicitors 62,981 
			 Branton Bridge 60,834 
			 Ollerenshaw Solicitors 58,944 
			 Hopkins 58,728 
			 Maidments Solicitors 58,481 
			 McConville O'Neill 57,979 
			 Ingrams Solicitors 54,570 
			 Thompson and Co. Solicitors 54,218

Miners' Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on what date his Department was first made aware of the contents of the agreement of 10 January 2002 between the Union of Democratic Mineworkers, Clare Walker and Beresfords.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 27 April 2006
	The Department was first made aware of the contents of the agreement referred to above in April 2005.

Miners' Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on what date the first noise induced hearing loss claim from (a) the Union of Democratic Mineworkers and (b) Vendside was (i) registered with his Department and (ii) paid out.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 27 April 2006
	The first hearing loss claim from the Union of Democratic Mineworkers was registered on 29 April 1997 and from Vendside on 4 March 2004. The first compensation paid was on 29 July 1999 and 1 November 2005 respectively.

Miners' Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which solicitors have pursued common law claims for (a) vibration white finger and (b) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in each year since 1999; and how many such claims each pursued in each year.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 27 April 2006
	The solicitors that have pursued common law claim for the above conditions since 1999 are set out in the following tables:
	
		COPD
		
			 Solicitor Total 
		
		
			 1999  
			 Atteys 1 
			 Browell Smith & Co 1 
			 Hugh James 10 
			 Moss Solicitors 1 
			 Raleys Solicitors 3 
			 Thompsons Solicitors 1 
			 Total 17 
			   
			 2000  
			 Beresfords Solicitors 1 
			 Hugh James 3 
			 Thompsons Solicitors 2 
			 Total 6 
			   
			 2001  
			 Raleys Solicitors 1 
			 Total 1 
			   
			 2002–3  
			 No common law claims  
			   
			 2004  
			 Raleys Solicitors 1 
			 Total 1 
			   
			 2005  
			 No common law claims  
		
	
	
		VWF
		
			 Solicitor Total 
		
		
			 1999  
			 Atteys 4 
			 Browell Smith & Co 26 
			 Digby Brown Solicitors 1 
			 Endlars Solicitors 1 
			 Flint Bishop & Barnett Solicitors 1 
			 Graysons Solicitors 4 
			 Hickmotts Solicitors 3 
			 Leo Abse & Cohen 4 
			 Macquillan & Co 1 
			 Oxley & Coward Solicitors 2 
			 Raleys Solicitors 1 
			 Robson McLean Solicitors 1 
			 Sentley Wilson Bowen Solicitors 2 
			 Thompsons Solicitors 4 
			 Towells Solicitors 1 
			 Watson Burton LLP 5 
			 Total 61 
			 2000  
			 Allan McDougall & Co Solicitors 1 
			 Askews 1 
			 Beresfords Solicitors 2 
			 Browell Smith & Co 22 
			 Burroughs Day Solicitors 1 
			 Edwards Abrams Doherty 1 
			 Flint Bishop & Barnett Solicitors 1 
			 Freeman Johnson Solicitors 1 
			 Gorman Hamilton Solicitors 1 
			 Graysons Solicitors 1 
			 Hickmotts Solicitors 1 
			 Irwin Mitchell Solicitors 5 
			 John Pickering & Partners Solicitors 1 
			 Lawfords & Co 1 
			 Lester Morrill Solicitors 1 
			 Meloy Whittle Robinson 1 
			 Mortons Solicitors 6 
			 Raleys Solicitors 1 
			 Ross Harper Solicitors 1 
			 Shaw & Co Solicitors 1 
			 Thompson & Co Solicitors 1 
			 Thompsons Solicitors 5 
			 Thornleys 1 
			 Towells Solicitors 21 
			 Total 79 
			   
			 2001  
			 Atteys 1 
			 Avalon Solicitors 1 
			 Browell Smith & Co 7 
			 Cleaver Thompson 1 
			 Ord & Co Solicitors 1 
			 Flint Bishop & Barnett Solicitors 1 
			 Irwin Mitchell Solicitors 4 
			 Leo Abse & Cohen 1 
			 Mace & Jones 1 
			 Pollard Bower Solicitors 1 
			 Thompsons Solicitors 2 
			 Towells Solicitors 1 
			 Watson Burton LLP 1 
			 Total 23 
			   
			 2002  
			 Barrie Y Jones & Co Solicitors 1 
			 Browell Smith & Co 3 
			 Ellis Fermor & Negus 1 
			 Graysons Solicitors 1 
			 Raleys Solicitors 1 
			 Thompsons Solicitors 5 
			 Towells Solicitors 2 
			 Whittles Solicitors 1 
			 Total 15 
		
	
	Note:
	No VWF common law claims since 2002.

National Institute for Medical Research

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 8 March 2006, Official Report, column 1513W to the hon. Member for Hertsmere (Mr. Clappison) on the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), if he will place a copy of Professor Blakemore's letter on moving the NIMR from Mill Hill to Euston in the Library.

Barry Gardiner: A copy of Professor's Blakemore's reply to the hon. Member for Hertsmere will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Nuclear Decommissioning

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his Department's estimate is of the cost of cleaning up the UK's nuclear power plants after decommissioning.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 27 April 2006
	The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) assumed responsibility for the decommissioning and clean up of the UK's civil nuclear legacy on 1 April 2005. The cost of the decommissioning and clean up of the NDA's sites is calculated by means of Life Cycle Baselines—which are long-term plans providing a detailed assessment of the scope, methodology, and time scale of proposed site activities, including the cost of its commercial operations. Based on the 2005–06 Life Cycle Baselines the NDA has estimated the undiscounted cost of delivering its mission at £62.7 billion at current prices. This is the figure given in its strategy. But the NDA has also identified a potential further £7.5 billion of costs that will need to be included in future Life Cycle Baselines. Information on Life Cycle Baselines and the long-term funding of the NDA's mission is available on its website www.nda.gov.uk

Nuclear Energy

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the merits of using pebble bed modular nuclear reactors to generate electricity.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government have carried out no technical assessment of Pebble Bed Modular Reactor systems. We are aware of the research and development work being carried out in China and South Africa on this technology, and the potential that this technology may be more proliferation resistant, economic and safer than some other types of nuclear reactor.

Nuclear Fuel (Transportation)

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the Government will undertake a review of the practice of transporting spent nuclear fuelby rail to take account of the increased terrorist threat.

Malcolm Wicks: The transportation of spent nuclear fuel by rail is carried out in a secure manner and in accordance with stringent security regulations—the Nuclear Industries Security Regulations 2003. These regulations are administered and enforced by the Office for Civil Nuclear Security, who regulate the security of such movements of spent nuclear fuel.
	The security of the transportation of nuclear material was thoroughly reviewed following the events of 11 September 2001, and is regularly reviewed in light of the prevailing threat.

Nuclear Fuel (Transportation)

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the security implications of the rail transportation of nuclear waste through (a) tunnels and (b) inner city areas.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 26 April 2006
	The transportation of spent nuclear fuel by rail is carried out in a secure manner and in accordance with stringent security regulations—the Nuclear Industries Security Regulations 2003. These regulations are administered and enforced by the Office for Civil Nuclear Security, who regulate the security of such movements of spent nuclear fuel.
	The security of the transportation of nuclear material was thoroughly reviewed following the events of September 11 2001, and is regularly reviewed in light of the prevailing threat.

Nuclear Incidents

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the incidents at nuclear licensed installations that met the reporting criteria for each quarter from January 1990 to date; and what the (a) location and (b) nature of each incident was.

Malcolm Wicks: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) publishes quarterly statements for incidences at nuclear installations, which meet the ministerial reporting criteria.
	Quarterly statements of nuclear incidents at nuclear installations from 1 October 2000 are available on the HSE website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/nuclear/quarterly-stat/index.htm
	37 hard copies of quarterly statements between January 1990 and September 2000 have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Post Office

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many sub-post offices have closed in East Yorkshire since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. Alan Cook, the managing director has been asked to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Nuclear Research

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been committed by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to research into nuclear energy in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 27 April 2006
	Expenditure by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council on research and related training into nuclear energy, including both fusion and nuclear fission, was as follows:
	
		Expenditure per annum (£000)
		
			  Nuclear fission Fusion(5) 
		
		
			 1997–98 42 — 
			 1998–99 81 — 
			 1999–2000 62 — 
			 2000–01 128 — 
			 2001–02 325 — 
			 2002–03 307 — 
			 2003–04 212 15,630 
			 2004–05 112 19,530 
			 2005–06(6) 952 16,990 
		
	
	(5) Responsibility for funding of Fusion research transferred from DTI to EPSRC in April 2003
	(6) Estimated expenditure

Nuclear Research

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total amount spent by BNFL in supporting UK involvement in international research into nuclear power is; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 27 April 2006
	In financial year 2005–06 BNFL spent £4.3 million on international research on advanced nuclear systems. This included research associated with the Generation IV programme as well as joint activities involving EU partners, IAEA and OECD. This programme of work was aimed at supporting the critical skills and capabilities required to keep the nuclear option open in the UK as aligned with UK energy policy.

Postal Charges

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the price of a (a) first class and(b) second class stamp has been in each year since 1976.

Barry Gardiner: I understand from Royal Mail that the price of a (a) first class and (b) second class stamp in each year since 1976 was:
	
		
			 Date Weight not exceeding lb oz First class Second class 
		
		
			 7 June 1976 60g 8½p 6½p 
			 13 June 1977 60g 9p 7p 
			 20 August1979 60g 10p 8p 
			 4 February 1980 60g 12p 10p 
			 26 January 1981 60g 14p 11½p 
			 1 February 1982 60g 15½p 12½p 
			 5 April 1983 60g 16p 12½p 
			 3 September 1984 60g 17p 13p 
			 4 November 1985 60g 17p 12p 
			 20 October 1986 60g 18p 13p 
			 5 September 1988 60g 19p 14p 
			 2 October 1989 60g 20p 15p 
			 17 September 1990 60g 22p 17p 
			 16 September 1991 60g 24p 18p 
			 1 November 1993 60g 25p 19p 
			 8 July 1996 60g 26p 20p 
			 April 1999 60g 26p 19p 
			 27 April 2000 60g 27p 19p 
			 8 May 2003 60g 28p 20p 
			 1 April 2004 60g 28p 21p 
			 7 April 2005 60g 30p 21p 
			 3 April 2006 60g 32p 23p

Renewable Energy

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of renewable energy generated in the UK in the last period for which figures are available came from landfill gas; and how many landfill gas sites there are.

Malcolm Wicks: In 2004, 28 per cent. of the electricity generated in the UK from renewable sources came from 327 landfill gas sites.

Road Fuel Prices

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will set up an inquiry into (a) possible price gouging by oil companies and (b) the reasons for recent price increases of petrol and diesel; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry will not be setting up inquiries into either issue. Pricing issues may be investigated by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) if they are the result of anti-competitive agreements or behaviour.
	The recent increase in the price of petrol and diesel reflects the increased cost of crude oil, caused partly by recent developments in oil producing countries such as Nigeria, Iraq and Iran.

Road Fuel Prices

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had during each week of 2006 with oil companies about the price of petrol and diesel; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The data is not available in the format as requested. It is the Government's policy not to intervene in commercial price setting, as it believes the consumer is best served by the operation of open competition between companies.
	The Government do, however, recognise the concerns about the current high price of oil products such as petrol and diesel. This was an issue, which I discussed at length with my ministerial colleagues from OPEC, among others, at the International Energy Forum in Doha last weekend.

Road Fuel Prices

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will introduce legislation to penalise oil companies who are found to be price gouging of (a) petrol and (b) diesel; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government do not intend to introduce new legislation.
	The Competition Act 1998 prohibits anti-competitive agreements and conduct which amounts to an abuse of a dominant position under chapters I and II respectively. In general, the price a retailer sets for a product or service is a matter for its own commercial judgment. The OFT has an enforcement role under the Competition Act 1998, if it has reasonable grounds to suspect that prices are arrived at by an arrangement contrary to chapter I, or reflect an abuse of a dominant position within a market contrary to chapter II.

Shareholders' Voting Rights

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures have been taken by his Department to increase the effectiveness of shareholders' voting rights.

Alun Michael: The Government are committed to encouraging the exercise of share ownership rights. That is why we have already required all quoted companies to seek shareholder approval for the directors' remuneration report, and continue to support the work of the Shareholder Voting Working Group.
	The Company Law Reform Bill builds on this by including provisions to ensure that voting processes are more transparent and that companies can enable indirect investors to enjoy or exercise various governance rights. In addition, the registered shareholder will have the right to appoint more than one proxy, thus enabling indirect investors acting as proxies to exercise all the meeting participation rights of the registered shareholder.

Sunday Trading Act

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the operation of Schedule 1, paragraph 2(4) of the Sunday Trading Act 1994.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Under the Sunday Trading Act 1994 large shops (over 280 sq m/3,000 sq ft) are required to remain closed on Easter Sunday. We are reviewing this as part of the current review of Sunday shopping.

Technology and Engineering Education

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the terms of reference are of (a) Technology and Engineering in Schools Strategy and (b) Engineering Education Alliance; who the members are; and what assessment he has made of its effectiveness to date.

Barry Gardiner: The Technology and Engineering in Schools Strategy (TESS) was initiated by Lord Sainsbury in 2005 and is a programme through which the engineering community has agreed to work together to provide better coordinated support for the promotion of engineering and technology in schools.
	It is led by the Royal Academy of Engineering and involves the engineering institutions and other bodies active in promoting engineering and technology to schools at a national level. Membership currently comprises: The Royal Academy of Engineering, the Office of Science and Innovation, the G15 of Engineering Institutions, the ETB (and, through ETB, its Business and Industry Panel), SETNET, the BA, The Institute of Physics, The Association of Science Educators, The Learning Grid.
	The TESS mission is to give every primary and secondary school in the UK, regardless of geography or local circumstances, equal access to a good number of quality-approved, high impact, coordinated schemes in engineering and technology related education. This will be achieved by the coordination of existing national-scale engineering and technology education schemes that deliver curriculum enrichment and/or teacher CPD. It will cover the promotion of engineering, the provision of information and the delivery of educational enrichment activities in engineering and technology to young people.
	The TESS strategy was agreed in late November 2005 and the TESS project was initiated early in 2006. There has been no formal assessment of its achievements to date. The project has included wide consultation with the engineering community and with the science institutions has been followed by the development of an implementation plan to deliver the first phase of TESS by September 2006. This will be a directory of approved schemes in engineering and technology and a methodology for colleagues in science to customise and build upon. The approval process for schemes will be transparent, draw on existing best practice, be based on a set of criteria agreed by the TESS Steering Group, and any national engineering and technology scheme will be free to apply.
	The Engineering Education Alliance (EEA) was formed in March 2002 following consultation with the engineering institutions and related organisations to provide a forum for coordinating information on education and skills initiatives related to engineering and technology. As of February 2006 membership of the EEA consisted of the following organisations:
	Association of Cost Engineers, British Computer Society, The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing, Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management, Engineering Council (UK), Energy Institute, Engineering Professors' Council, Engineering and Technology Board, Institution of Agricultural Engineers, Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Chemical Engineers, The Institute of Cast Metals Engineers, Institution of Engineering Designers, Institution of Engineering and Technology, Institution of Fire Engineers, Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers, The Institute of Healthcare Engineering and Estate Management, Institute of Highway Incorporated Engineers, Institution of Lighting Engineers, Institute of Mathematics and Its Applications, Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology, Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Institute of Measurement and Control, The Institution of Nuclear Engineers, Institute of Acoustics, The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, Institute of Physics, Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine, The Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering, Institution of Structural Engineers, Institution of Water Officers, Royal Academy of Engineering, Royal Aeronautical Society, The Royal Institution of Naval Architects, Science Engineering Technology Mathematics Network, Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, The Welding Institute.
	The aims of the EEA are to:
	Provide a regular forum where the engineering institutions and professional affiliates can meet to exchange views and knowledge with the aim of developing common cause in promoting engineering and technology in schools, colleges and universities.
	Seek to influence the simplification of the engineering 'message' such that it becomes more effective in schools, FE and HE.
	Support and endorse effective activities that communicate a consistent and clear message to young people about engineering.
	Help to make engineering and technology initiatives in schools, colleges and universities fit for purpose.
	Support and endorse key activities that enhance the perception of engineering and technology among parents, teachers and careers advisors.
	Work closely with other bodies that already play a directional, influential and valuable role in the education sector (e.g. DfES and QCA).
	Liaise, advise and provide effective support for teachers thus enabling them to improve the engineering, scientific, mathematical, design and technology skills of young people.
	Provide opportunities for ad-hoc groups to be established as part of the Alliance, which might focus on specific activities.
	Seek to influence and support existing bodies and networks rather than create a 'rival' body.
	Provide and develop an EEA publicly accessible website that enables the engineering and technology and education communities to communicate with each other and promulgate their collective activities.
	There has been no formal assessment of the EEA's achievements to date. It has completed two projects. The first (March to October 2003) was to research and publish a set of criteria to be used in assessing the many initiatives and externally initiated projects involving the promotion of 'engineering' in schools. These published guidelines were particularly aimed at those within the Science, Design and Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) community who are considering developing, or assessing for continuation, any STEM activity which seeks to involve schools, teachers or pupils.
	The second EEA project completed its first phase in late 2005 and is about simplifying the engineering message and making entry into the profession more user- friendly. EEA members produced recommendations on how to increase the number of well-qualified and motivated entrants to engineering and identified key barriers to entry and how these should be tackled. This was published the EEA report Entry to the world of engineering".

Thorp Nuclear Reprocessing Plant

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he expects the full net costs of the closure of the Thorp nuclear reprocessing plant to be recovered through insurance.

Malcolm Wicks: This is a matter for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) who became the owners of the plant and facilities of BNFL (including Thorp) when it was set up on 1 April 2005.1 understand from the NDA that it intends to make an insurance claim to cover the costs of the temporary closure of Thorp due to the incident including repairs, and any income losses resulting from the closure will be the subject of an insurance claim by the NDA. The extent of the claim will be dependant both on regulatory approval for the re-start of the facility and on the subsequent restart date. The claim is currently being compiled and validated by the NDA. This is expected to be completed by the summer in light of which discussions with loss adjusters will then begin.

Departmental Policies

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will set out with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to West Lancashire constituency the effects in West Lancashire of changes to his Department's policies since 1997.

Alun Michael: The Department for Trade and Industry has responsibility for driving our ambition of 'prosperity for all' by working to create the best environment for business success in the UK, helping to increase productivity through the promotion of enterprise, innovation and creativity and investing in world-class science and technology. It ensures that a successful economy is underpinned by secure, sustainable and affordable energy and champions British interests globally while promoting economic reform in Europe and free and fair world trade.
	In 2002 we launched the Manufacturing Strategy and Advisory Service which has helped over 1,000 companies nationally increase their value added by an average of £105,000. We invest approximately £500 million per year via the Small Business Service and Business Link to assist the start up and development of SMEs. In 2003–04 through the Office of Science and Technology we invested £2.4 billion in UK research and we are investing £187 million (2004 to 2006) through the Higher Education and Innovation Fund to support knowledge transfer. A summary of our achievements can be found at www.dti.gov.uk.
	The Government-funded regional development agencies are the key vehicle for driving forward regional economic development. Businesses across the north west have benefited from a range of initiatives in the Regional Economic Strategy, developed by the Northwest Development Agency (NWDA) and regional partners, which aim to develop business cluster and key sector growth potential, assist access to finance, develop business incubators, promote innovation, drive up skills and support regeneration.
	115 projects in West Lancashire are benefiting from NWDA funding. In addition, extensive business counselling and advice has been provided to businesses and potential start-ups through the Business Links, the Research and Development grant and the Manufacturing Advisory Service.
	DTI provides comprehensive statistical information. The following web address will take you directly to the service: www.dti.gov.uk/statistics.

Westfield Development Centre

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Minister for Energy (a) has visited and (b) intends to visit the Westfield Development Centre in Fife.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 18 April 2006
	I have not visited the Westfield Development Centre.
	I was grateful, however, for the Scottish Affairs Committee recommendations on 'Meeting Scotland's Future Energy Needs' published on 29 March and my office will be contacting Westfield Development Centre with a view to organising a meeting with their representatives.

World Trade

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has made to the EU Commissioner for External Trade on (a) his decision to impose duties on imports of shoes from China and Vietnam, (b) the current discussions on imports of furniture from Asia and (c) the current talks in the Doha trade round; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Department of Trade and Industry was actively involved in the European Commission's consideration of provisional anti-dumping measures on footwear with leather uppers from China and Vietnam. Given the likelihood that measures would be implemented, Ministers and officials sought to ensure that the Commission took account of the concerns of the full range of stakeholders, not just those EU producers who had filed the initial complaint. In so doing, the UK successfully agreed for the exclusion of children's footwear and special technology athletic footwear from the measures.
	The Government have made no representations on imports of furniture from Asia, nor is it aware of any discussions between the Commission and member states on this issue.
	My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State has met Peter Mandelson, the European Trade Commissioner, on several occasions over the last 12 months, to discuss the current Doha Development Agenda, including ways to secure an ambitious pro-development outcome to which the UK is fully committed.

Wylfa Power Station

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate has been made of the (a) cost of and (b) time required to carry out the necessary safety and environmental impact assessments into a possible extension of the life of Wylfa nuclear power station beyond 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: This is a matter for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) who (when it was set up on 1 April 2005) became the owner of the plant and facilities of BNFL (including the fleet of Magnox nuclear power stations e.g. Wylfa). The NDA is considering the scope for extending the life of Wylfa beyond 2010—which is the planned closure date given in its approved strategy. The NDA has advised me that in light of factors such as the age of the plant, related safety concerns, and the closure of associated fuel processing facilities at Sellafield such an extension is highly unlikely.

PRIME MINISTER

Number Ten Events and Visits Office

David Amess: To ask the Prime Minister how many people have been employed by the Number Ten Events and Visits Office since May 1997, broken down by grade; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Chichester (Mr. Tyrie) on 23 November 2005, Official Report, column 1965W, and to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker) on 18 April 2006, Official Report, column 400W.

Visits

David Amess: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the towns in (a) England and Wales, (b) Scotland and (c) the European Union that he has visited in an official capacity in each month since 1997; what the purpose of each visit was; what the (i) date, (ii) time, (iii) location and (iv) duration was of each meeting; if he will place in the Library the text of any speech made; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: Records of my official visits are not categorised in this way.
	For visits I have made in the UK between 2001 and 2004 I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker) on 7 November 2002, Official Report, columns 441–43W, 26 April 2004, Official Report, columns 829–30W, and 4 March 2005, Official Report, columns 1429–30W. Between January 2005 and March 2006 I have undertaken the following visits within the UK:
	
		
			 Date Official visits 
		
		
			 6 January 2005 Leeds 
			  Baildon 
			  Idle 
			  Bradford 
			 13 January St. Mary's Island, Dartford 
			  Chatham 
			 20 January Watford 
			 24 January Greenford, Northolt 
			 31 January-1 February Wythenshaw 
			  Castlefield 
			  Manchester 
			 11 February Kettering 
			  Warwick 
			  Leeds 
			  Gateshead 
			 12–13 February Gateshead 
			 15–16 February Bromsgrove 
			  Redditch 
			  Sellyoak 
			  Birmingham 
			  Milton Keynes 
			  Wembley 
			 23 February Lambeth College 
			 3–4 March Kirkintilloch 
			  St. Andrew's Bay 
			  Dundee 
			 10 March Brighton 
			 24–25 March Hull 
			 30 March Coventry Leicester 
			 31 March Gravesend 
			 8 April Birmingham 
			 15 April Birmingham 
			 11 May London 
			 26 May London 
			 28 June Portsmouth 
			 14–15 July Newcastle 
			 25 July London 
			 28 July London 
			 2 September Watford 
			 3 September Glasgow 
			  Balmoral 
			 12 September London 
			 13 September Brighton 
			 24–29 September Brighton 
			 5 October Southall 
			 13 October Crawley 
			 18 October Birmingham 
			 20 October London 
			 24 October London 
			 25 October London 
			 3 November Manchester 
			 17 November Leeds 
			 29 November London 
			 5 December London 
			 12 December Harlow 
			 22–23 December Middlesbrough 
			 10 January 2006 Swindon 
			 14 January Nottingham 
			 17 January London 
			 24 January London 
			 26 January Cardiff 
			 30 January London 
			 2 February Oxford 
			 9 February Croydon 
			 10 February Liverpool 
			  Blackpool 
			 23–24 February Manchester 
			  St. Helens 
			  Wigan 
			  Inverness 
			  Aviemore 
			 2 March London 
			 16–17 March York 
		
	
	My visits cover a range of matters including health, education, criminal justice and the economy. I also travel regularly to my constituency. I travel making the most efficient and cost-effective arrangements. My travel arrangements are in accordance with the arrangements for official travel set out in Chapter 10 of the Ministerial Code, and the accompanying guidance document, Travel by Ministers".
	For overseas visits, the Government have since 1999 published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. Copies of these lists are available in the Library of the House. Information on the number of officials accompanying Ministers on overseas visits is included in the list. All Ministers' travel arrangements are in accordance with the arrangements for official travel set out in Chapter 10 of the Ministerial Code, and the accompanying guidance document, Travel by Ministers". Information for the year 2005–06 will be published as soon as it is ready after the end of the financial year.
	Copies of my speeches are made available on the No. 10 website.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Boundary Commission

Eric Pickles: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  when she expects the Boundary Commission to submit its recommendations on English boundary changes to the Department; andwhen she plans to lay draft orders before both Houses;
	(2)  what she expects the period of time to be between the Boundary Commission submitting its proposals for revised Westminster Parliamentary constituencies for England to her Department and laying draft orders before Parliament.

Bridget Prentice: The Parliamentary Boundary Commission for England expects to submit its report to the Government by the end of this year. Under the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986, the report will then be brought before Parliament as soon as may be". We cannot be clear about the exact timing of the draft orders until we know the extent of any representations made following the submission of the report to the Government.

Cemetries

Iain Wright: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what (a) regulatory and (b) statutory quality guidelines local authorities are required to comply with in their management of cemeteries and burial grounds relating to health and safety.

Harriet Harman: Under health and safety legislation, I understand that local authorities, as employers, have a duty to ensure that the risk is properly managed. The need to have regard to health and safety risks has been brought to cemetery managers' attention in our recently published Guide for Burial Ground Managers".

Death Certificates

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs in what circumstances a death certificate can be altered after it has been issued.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 2 May 2006
	As Registrar General for England and Wales I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking in what circumstances a death certificate can be altered after it has been issued. (65539)
	The term death certificate is widely used to mean either the medical certificate of cause of death issued by a doctor who certified the death or the certified! copy of the registration of the death. In either case the only circumstances in which a death certificate can be altered is if it can be shown that it contains incorrect information.

Departmental Publications

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the (a) research and (b) publication costs were of each of the reports and reviews by her Department in 2006.

Harriet Harman: My Department does not hold this information centrally. To provide an answer would be disproportionate to cost.

Electoral Registration

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many electoral registration officers there are in the West Midlands region.

Bridget Prentice: There are 34 electoral registration officers in the area comprising the West Midlands region for the purpose of the regional assembly and elections to the European Parliament.

Telephone Advice Lines

Andrew Love: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many telephone advice lines her Department and its non-departmental public bodies support; how many telephone advisers each employs; and how much funding is provided to each by (a) her Department and its non-departmental public bodies, (b) other Government Departments, (c) the private sector and (d) the voluntary sector.

Harriet Harman: We do not hold central records of the number and costs of the advice lines supported by my Department and its non-departmental public bodies. That information could now be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Belarus

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Belarusian authorities regarding the imprisonment of opposition figures following the presidential elections.

Jack Straw: The Minister for Europe, my right hon. Friend the Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire, South (Mr. Alexander), issued a statement on 24 March strongly condemning the arrests and calling for the release of those detained. The text of the statement is available at: http://www.gnn.gov.uk/Content/DetaiLasp?ReleaseID=192765&NewsAreaID:=2. EU Heads of Mission in Minsk made a de"marche to the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in similar terms on 24 March. The presidency of the EU issued a declaration on 25 March condemning the use of violence against demonstrators, expressing serious concern about the arrest of demonstrators and members of the opposition, including Alexander Kazulin, and demanding their immediate release. The text of the declaration is available at: http://www.eu2006.at/en/News/CFSP_Statements/March/belarus.html. The EU's local presidency made a further de"marche on 6 April. Senior Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials also raised this matter with the Belarusian Ambassador in London on 7 April. The conclusions of the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 10 April urged the Belarusian authorities not to penalise or discriminate against those exercising their right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, including the leaders of the opposition parties, and imposed restrictive measures on those responsible for these actions.

Chad

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Chad about (a) the administration of oil revenues and (b) corruption.

Ian Pearson: We have had no specific discussions with the Government of Chad about the use of oil revenues or corruption. But we have made consistently clear our wish to see oil revenues used to benefit Africa's poor and the importance of transparency and African leadership in the fight against corruption.
	We welcomed the arrangement between Chad and the World Bank in 1999 to enshrine the principle of using oil revenues to tackle poverty eradication in Chad but regret the recent dispute between the World Bank and Chad, following changes to the law by the Government of Chad to reduce this. We welcome US mediation and the current discussions between the World Bank and the Chadian authorities and hope they reach a positive resolution soon.

Chad

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the extent of human rights abuses in Chad.

Ian Pearson: We are concerned about the poor human rights record in Chad, particularly the lack of freedom of expression and good governance. Our main means of influence with the Chadian authorities is through the EU. We, together with other EU member states, have called on them to take substantive steps to improve human rights and governance.
	Chad is due to hold presidential elections on 3 May 2006. The UK is working with EU partners to urge the Chadian authorities to ensure a peaceful and credible electoral process in which all parties can participate.

Chad

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government authorise the transfer of arms to Chad.

Kim Howells: All applications from the UK are rigorously assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Export Licensing Criteria, taking full account of the prevailing circumstances at the time of application. This process includes specific criteria whereby we will not issue a licence where there is a clear risk that the proposed export might be used for internal repression, might aggravate existing tensions or conflict in the country of final destination or that the export may be used aggressively against another country. Details of all export licences approved to Chad are available in the Quarterly and Annual Reports on Strategic Export Controls (available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website at: http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1089131553823), and are subject to detailed retrospective scrutiny by the Quadripartite Committees.
	The Government have in the past authorised applications for the export of military-listed goods. Our records show that since 2004, three Open Individual Export Licences have been approved for humanitarian use in Chad.

China

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of China on (a) reports of the harvesting and sale of organs from executed prisoners and (b) human rights in China.

Ian Pearson: The Government regularly raise human rights with the Chinese Government, through the formal UK and EU-China human rights dialogues, ministerial meetings and contacts between officials.
	The Government are concerned about the practice of prisoners subject to the death penalty in China donating their organs and the trade in these organs. I raised these concerns with the Chinese Government on 7 April. The Chinese Government have acknowledged this practice, but have denied recent media reports of widespread organ harvesting in China. We have received no evidence to substantiate these reports. We believe that the right approach is to seek to overcome the social taboo of organ transplants and encourage donation from the general population. The Government welcome the announcement by the Chinese Ministry of Health of a new regulation to come into effect on 1 July, to ban the sale of organs and introduce medical standards for organ transplants.

Colombia

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the freedom and fairness of the forthcoming presidential election in Colombia.

Douglas Alexander: The first round of the Colombian presidential elections will take place at the end of May. It is too early to make an assessment of the election. All of the presidential candidates continue to be given plenty of opportunity to voice their opinions through Colombia's media.
	The Colombian parliamentary elections in March 2006, which were accepted by most observers as being free and fair, confirmed that Colombia is a democratic country. However, there are areas in which democratic institutions and processes could be strengthened.

Colombia

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the likely effects of decisions of the Colombian Government (a) to negotiate a demobilisation programme, with rights to immunity from prosecution for human rights abuses, with right-wing paramilitary groups and (b) not to negotiate with left-wing rebels.

Douglas Alexander: As was made clear in the EU Council Conclusions on Colombia in October 2005, we and other EU member states consider that the effective and transparent implementation of the Law on Justice and Peace, under which more than 30,000 paramilitaries in Colombia have now demobilised, will have a positive impact on peace-building in Colombia. This implementation needs to ensure that those found guilty of human rights abuses are punished for their crimes.
	The Colombian Government is actively involved in talks with the National Liberation Army, a left-wing illegal armed group and the next round of talks began on 25 April. Its recent efforts to begin preliminary talks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the countries biggest illegal armed group, have been consistently rebutted by the guerrillas.

Cote D'Ivoire

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with members of the Government of Cote d'Ivoire regarding President Laurent Gbagbo's concerns of possible electoral fraud resulting from the concurrent running of disarmament and voter identification programmes; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: There have been no direct contacts between Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers and the Government of Cote d'lvoire about these concerns.
	The UK is represented at official level at the African Union-led International Working Group (IWG) which oversees the peace process. At its last meeting on 20 April, the IWG recalled that the main Ivorian leaders had agreed on simultaneous and immediate implementation of the voter identification and disarmament processes. The IWG called on the Government to accelerate simultaneous implementation and stressed that the identification of citizens will allow the establishment of reliable voter lists and contribute to the holding of free, fair, open and transparent elections.

Cyprus

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last visited Cyprus; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary last visited Cyprus on 24–25 January. I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary to the hon. Member for Eastbourne (Mr. Waterson) on 7 February 2006, Official Report, columns 733–35.

Darfur

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the extent of al-Qaeda influence and activity in Darfur.

Ian Pearson: Osama Bin Laden was resident in Sudan until he was expelled in 1996. We have no details of any current al-Qaeda activity or influence in Darfur. On 23 April, Osama bin Laden made a statement including a call for Muslims to resist a Western 'crusade' in Darfur. The Government of Sudan subsequently made a public statement rejecting and criticising bin Laden's comments.

Darfur (UN Access)

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the Sudanese Government's co-operation with the United Nations, with particular reference to the UN's access to the Darfur region.

Jack Straw: The Sudanese Government's co-operation with the UN is wholly inadequate. On 4 April, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development and my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, wrote to the Sudanese Foreign Minister, Dr Lam Akol, expressing concern about the Government of Sudan's refusal to allow the UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator, Jan Egeland, access to Darfur. They made clear that the Government must facilitate access for and co-operate in full with UN and humanitarian agencies in Darfur.
	We are also pressing the Government of Sudan to allow access to Darfur for the UN Department for Peacekeeping Operations planning mission to look at options for a UN force in Darfur, authorised by UN Security Council Resolution 1663.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the merit of an HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness campaign which specifically refutes the belief that sorcery is a vehicle for transmission of the virus.

Ian Pearson: The UK has an on-going dialogue with the Congolese Government on HIV, the child witch" phenomenon and human rights. But we have not made representations specifically linking HIV awareness and sorcery. The UK fully supports the Congolese Government's planned HIV sensitisation programme. This will help dispel the myth about the link between sorcery" and HIV, and will contribute to longer-term improvement of children's rights. To address the issue of HIV/AIDS in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the UK has funded behaviour change communications campaigns and the distribution of millions of condoms. We are assisting the Government to implement a national HIV/AIDS strategy, and we are supporting the provision of primary health care and education through UN agencies and non-governmental organisations.

Eritrea

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the level of religious freedom in Eritrea; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what discussions he has held with officials from the Eritrean Government on religious persecution; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: We remain concerned by reports of State interference in religious affairs and lack of freedom of worship in Eritrea. We monitor closely action taken by the authorities against minority religious groups.
	Together with EU partners, we raise these issues with the Eritrean Government whenever possible. My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, wrote to President Isaiah on 6 October 2005 and has raised our concerns with the Eritrean ambassador several times.

EU Finance

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the reasons were for the UK's position on the discharge of the EU's 2004 budget at the Economic and Financial Affairs Council on 14 March; and what discussions he had with his Dutch counterpart on this matter.

Ivan Lewis: I have been asked to reply.
	I attended the Economic and Financial Affairs Council on 14 March. The UK's position in support of the Council's recommendation on discharge was based on recognition of the progress that has been made in financial management and control and the importance of Council commitment to the November ECOFIN agreement on taking forward the integrated internal control framework". Treasury officials work closely with their Dutch counterparts and kept me informed of the Dutch position.

EU Finance

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what (a) net and (b) gross contributions to the EU are to be paid by each of the 25 member states of the EU in each of the next seven years following the agreement on 17 December 2005.

Ivan Lewis: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given to the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr. Hayes) on 27 February 2006, Official Report, column 332W.

EU Finance

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on (a) future financing of the EU and (b) EU budget reform.

Douglas Alexander: As I said in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for North-West Leicestershire (David Taylor) on 25 April 2006, Official Report, columns 497–99, the December European Council agreed a European Union budget for 2007 to 2013. The Government welcome the Inter-Institutional Agreement (ILA) that the Council, the European Commission and Parliament have provisionally reached to give formal effect to the December agreement. The Council now needs formally to approve the IIA, but before then a debate on the agreement will take place on the Floor of the House.
	The December European Council also invited the European Commission to undertake a full and wide-ranging review of the EU budget and to report back to the European Council in 2008–09.

Fisheries

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the progress of the proposed UN referendum in Western Sahara of the signing by the EU of a new EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Islington, North (Jeremy Corbyn) on 23 January 2006, Official Report, column 1806–07W.

European Constitution

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what written submission the UK Government (a) have made and (b) intend to make in advance of discussions on a European Constitution at the Council of Ministers meeting on 27 May.

Douglas Alexander: The Government are still considering how they intend to contribute to preparations for the meeting.

Avian Influenza

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what (a) guidance and (b) support his Department offers on inoculation against the H5N1 virus to British nationals living overseas in countries where there is a major outbreak.

Kim Howells: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), in conjunction with the Department of Health and other Departments, has produced a comprehensive fact-sheet on avian and pandemic flu for both Britons travelling and resident overseas, available at http://www.fco.gov.uk/flu Included in the comprehensive guidance are specific precautions one should take to minimise the risks of contracting avian flu, which are believed to be very low. The FCO regularly updates travel advice pages when a country is verified by the World Health Organisation as having had incidences of avian influenza.
	British diplomatic missions overseas cannot provide medicines or medical treatment to British nationals living overseas, but they will be able to advise on the local availability of medicines and provide details of health care providers.
	There is currently no vaccine available to inoculate humans against avian influenza.

International Arrest Warrants

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has received documentary evidence from the Israeli Government on potential changes to UK law on international arrest warrants.

Kim Howells: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has received representations from the Israeli Government on the subject of international arrest warrants. I discussed this with the Israeli Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, when she visited London on 2 March.

Internet/Website Provision

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list (a) the websites operated by his Department and (b) the reports placed on the internet in March 2006, indicating in each case whether paper copies were also made available.

Ian Pearson: The websites operated by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) include the main FCO website, UKvisas website, i-UK.com website and 180 overseas post websites. A complete list of the websites operated by the FCO will be placed in the Library of the House, as the information requested is lengthy. Five reports were published on the FCO main site during March 2006, these were:
	1. Autumn Performance Report;
	2. Report on Stakeholder Consultation;
	3. UN High Level Report;
	4. Six monthly report on Hong Kong, July-December 2005;
	5. Staff survey 2006 highlight report.
	The Autumn Performance Report and the six monthly report on Hong Kong, July to December 2005, were placed in the Library of the House.

Iran

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken by his Department to support pro-democracy student groups in Iran.

Kim Howells: Encouraging greater respect for human rights and political freedoms is a key element of our approach towards Iran. We seek to promote the internationally recognised principles to which many Iranians aspire including freedom of speech and transparent, genuinely democratic and accountable government. We maintain a dialogue with those inside and outside the Iranian Government who are working to support reform and the promotion of the rule of law. We do not generally publicise the details without the consent of our Iranian partners.

Iran

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the Iranian space programme; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: The UK reviews the space programme of other nations on a periodic basis. We note Iran's interest in using earth observation data, and that Russia recently launched a small satellite belonging to Iran for this purpose. Iran does not currently have the capability to launch a satellite into space without assistance.

Iran

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the threat to Baha'is in Iran; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: We have serious concerns about the situation of the Baha'i community in Iran. Reports suggest that Baha'is have been subjected to harassment, intimidation and arbitrary arrest and a hostile campaign in the media. Iran's Chambers of Commerce have also reportedly been ordered to create lists of all Baha'i businesses. In December, a Baha'i, Dhaibullah Mahrami, died in custody in unclear circumstances.
	The Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Asma Jahangir, has recently highlighted her concern at a letter apparently from Iran's Supreme Leader instructing the country's authorities and armed forces to identify Baha'is and monitor their activities. I share these concerns. I can see no justification for the authorities to collect such information, nor for ordering surveillance of Baha'is simply on account of their faith.
	Ministers and officials have pressed the Iranian authorities on many occasions to address discrimination suffered by the Baha'i community. At our suggestion, the EU presidency did so on 11 April 2006. On 10 April 2006, EU foreign Ministers underlined their
	continued concerns about the human rights situation in Iran, in particular regarding the situation of Baha'is".

Iran

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the extent of freedom to practise religion in Iran; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: We continue to have serious concerns about the situation of religious minorities in Iran. The Iranian constitution recognises the Christian, Jewish and Zoroastrian communities, but not others such as the Baha'is. We receive many reports of discrimination against those wishing to practise these faiths. The position of people who have converted from Islam appears to be especially difficult. We have made clear to the Iranian authorities that we believe that persecution of individuals on the grounds of their religious beliefs is unacceptable. We expect Iran to uphold freedom of religion and belief in accordance with its international obligations under Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights.

Iran

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the provision of assistance to UK citizens in Iran; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: Our policy on consular assistance to British nationals in Iran is the same as it is elsewhere in the world. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made a statement to the House on 21 March announcing the publication of the consular guide which sets out what we can and cannot do for British Nationals (Official Report, Columns155–168). A copy of the guide has been sent to all hon. Members and is also available in the Library of the House.

Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department's officials have met Iraqi Ministry of Oil officials since March 2003; and what subjects were discussed.

Kim Howells: Officials based in our embassy in Baghdad have had regular contact with Ministry of Oil officials since 2003. Discussions cover a range of subjects relating to rehabilitation and future development of the energy sector in Iraq.

Israel (Nuclear Threat)

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken to minimise the possible nuclear threat to Israel following recent statements from the President of Iran.

Kim Howells: President Ahmadinejad's statements calling Israel a 'fake regime' which 'cannot logically continue to live' are outrageous and wholly unacceptable. They further heighten concerns about Iran's approach in the region, and reinforce international determination that Iran should comply with its non-proliferation obligations.
	We remain fully committed to preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. With France and Germany we have been at the forefront of efforts to encourage Iran to take steps that would create confidence that the intentions of its nuclear programme are solely peaceful. The Security Council is now involved, to reinforce the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its Board of Governors. We strongly supported the statement on 29 March by the President of the Security Council, calling on Iran to take the steps the IAEA Board has deemed essential. We will now be consulting other Security Council members on what further action the Council should take, following the IAEA Director-General's 28 April report on Iranian compliance.

Moldova

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the ability of opposition politicians in Moldova to operate without (a) intimidation, (b) harassment and (c) threats of legal action; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: Respect for democracy, freedom of expression and the rule of law are principles which form the foundation for UK and EU co-operation with Moldova. They are also principles to which Moldova is committed through its participation in the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and other international organisations. Moldova has made some progress towards becoming a functioning democracy, with active opposition parties represented in Parliament. However, the OSCE's Office for Democracy and Institution for Human Rights identified a number of shortcomings in the conduct of the 2005 parliamentary elections, including obstruction of the opposition's campaign. Recent reports have also raised concerns about interference by the Moldovan authorities in the work of opposition political parties. Through the EU troika, we have raised our concerns about these issues, most recently with the Moldovan Foreign Minister at the EU-Moldova Co-operation Council on 6 April. We will continue to monitor Moldova's progress towards meeting its democratic commitments, including through the European Neighbourhood Policy, which offers Moldova the opportunity to achieve its ambition of closer relations with the EU, subject to progress on internal reform.

Nigeria (Homosexuality)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of Nigeria on the progress of its bill to criminalise homosexuality.

Ian Pearson: We are concerned this Bill will cut across many of Nigeria's international human rights obligations by continuing to criminalise the homosexual community in Nigeria. We are also concerned that the Bill will criminalise non-governmental organisations and human rights defenders who may work on behalf of the homosexual community.
	Together with our EU partners we plan to raise our concerns with the Nigerian authorities.

Palestine

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with US representatives on the withdrawal of funding for Palestinian development projects; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: The UK Government are in regular contact with the US on development assistance to Palestinians. On 30 March, the Quartet (the US, the EU, the UN and Russia) noted that the new Palestinian Government has not yet complied with the principles of non-violence, recognition of Israel's right to exist and commitment to the peace process.
	Without progress against the Quartet's conditions, the UK cannot provide direct support to the Palestinian Cabinet or its Ministries. Projects with Palestinian ministries have been suspended or re-oriented to focus on other partners. The Department for International Development is also working with other major donors including the US to establish the most effective mechanism to meet the basic needs of the Palestinian people without providing funding through the Palestinian Government.

Scrutiny Reserve

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answers of 17 January 2006, Official Report, column 1290W and 7 March 2006, Official Report, column 1344W, on the scrutiny reserve, what the reason was for the different estimates for the number of scrutiny overrides in 2005.

Douglas Alexander: My reply to the hon. Member on 17 January 2006 (Official Report, column 1290W) made it clear that the figure for the number of overrides for the period July-December 2005 was a preliminary estimate. The figure of 36 was based on a preliminary list compiled by officials that had not yet been checked with the lead departments responsible for the legislation in question. That checking process revealed the lower final figure given in the follow-up reply to the hon. Member on 7 March (Official Report, column 1345W). The initial list identified two cases which should have been included in the previous report for January to June and one that had been included in error which had already been covered in the previous report. Other adjustments were needed, for example, to remove items which had in fact received clearance before agreement. The details of the overrides for the period July to December 2005 have now been sent to the European Scrutiny Committee. A copy of that letter has been placed in the Library of the House.

Son Jong Nam

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the North Korean Government for clemency in the case of Son Jong Nam.

Ian Pearson: The Government learned recently of the reported conviction of and death penalty imposed on Mr. Son Jong Nam. We have asked our ambassador in Pyongyang to make inquiries.

Sudan

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what powers are available to African Union troops to capture those who are believed to be involved in acts of atrocity in Sudan; and how many such people have been (a) captured, (b) brought to trial, (c) convicted and (d) imprisoned in the last 12 months.

Ian Pearson: The African Union's mandate is to monitor developments and contribute to a secure environment. It does not include powers to arrest suspected perpetrators of atrocities in Sudan.
	The Government have consistently made clear that those responsible for the terrible crimes committed in Darfur should be brought to justice. We have pressed the Government of Sudan to apprehend, bring to trial and punish those involved. The UK sponsored UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1593, referring the situation in Darfur to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Prosecutor of the ICC began a formal investigation on 6 June 2005. We also co-sponsored UNSCR 1672 of 25 April, which imposed the first targeted sanctions on individuals responsible for human rights violations in Darfur.

Sudan

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to members of the African Union to increase their troop levels in Sudan.

Ian Pearson: There have been no recent representations made by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary or Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers to members of the African Union (AU) to increase their troop levels in Sudan. However, we support the AU's decision in principle to transfer responsibility for the international monitoring mission in Darfur to the UN. The UN force will need to be larger and better equipped than the present AU force, currently totalling some 7,000 troops. Meanwhile we continue to offer the AU support to enhance the effectiveness of its mission.

Turkey

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with members of the Turkish Government regarding the murder of Ferho and Fatim Akgül in Turkish Kurdistan in March 2006; what assurances he has sought with regard to the investigation into this act; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the allegations of the involvement of the Turkish local authorities and the Turkish armed forces in the murder of Ferho and Fatim Akgül in Turkish Kurdistan in March 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: Ferho and Fatma Akgül were found murdered on 2 March near Mardin in Southeast Turkey. We are aware of a number of allegations about their deaths, including that from Derwich Ferho, Chairman of the Kurdish Institute in Brussels, that Turkish military special forces and village guards were responsible for his parents' killing. The local prosecutor has opened an investigation into the killings. Our embassy in Ankara is closely monitoring the case, but the Government has not discussed this matter with the Turkish Government.

Turkey

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with members of the Turkish Government since January 2006 concerning allegations of violence against the Turkish population; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: During his visit to Turkey on 25 January, my right hon. Friend, the Foreign Secretary pressed for sustained Turkish momentum on internal reform. Our ambassador in Ankara has since conveyed similar messages to senior Turkish Ministers and officials and has discussed the recent rioting in Diyarbakir and other provinces with the Turkish Government.
	The Government condemn the recent violence in South East Turkey and the subsequent terrorist attacks in Istanbul.

Turkey

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to monitor and evaluate the full adoption and implementation of the Copenhagen criteria in Turkey; what progress has been reported since Janaury 2005; what areas have been highlighted as needing more work; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The European Commission monitors a candidate country's fulfilment of the Copenhagen political criteria and produces an annual regular report on candidates' progress. The November 2005 report states that Turkey continues to sufficiently fulfil the Copenhagen political criteria," but that implementation of the reforms remains uneven". Areas requiring further attention include torture, freedom of expression and religious freedoms. The Government closely monitors developments and regularly raises related issues with Turkey, and did so most recently at ministerial level during my right hon. Friend, the Foreign Secretary's visit to Turkey on 25 January.

Turkey

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the freedom to operate of the legal profession in Turkey.

Douglas Alexander: The Turkish judicial system has been strengthened in recent years with the adoption of structural reforms and a new penal code. There have been concerns raised about provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure which effectively prevents lawyers accused or convicted of terrorism offences from representing others accused of terrorist crimes.
	We, along with the European Commission, will continue to monitor the effect of the new legislation, including with regards to defence rights and free operation of the legal profession.

CABINET OFFICE

Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill

Gordon Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment he has made of the likely effect of his proposed amendments to the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill on the burden of administration affecting businesses.

Jim Murphy: The Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill has the potential to make a real impact on reducing burdensome regulation. I am currently looking to focus the order-making power in the Bill on delivering better regulation objectives, to bring to an end speculation about far-fetched constitutional risks. These amendments will make it clear that the Bill provides an effective power to reduce burdens more quickly and easily.

Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the extent of ministerial powers to be granted by the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill.

Jim Murphy: I refer the hon. Member to my letter of 12 April 2006 to the Chairman of the Regulatory Reform Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston (Andrew Miller). Copies are available in the Library.

Public Services (Reform)

Peter Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent assessment he has made of the progress of the Cabinet Office's work in leading and supporting the delivery and reform of public services.

Jim Murphy: The Cabinet Office has an important role in supporting and challenging Departments to more effectively deliver and reform public services.

Correspondence

Graham Allen: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on handling correspondence from hon. Members; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: The revised Guidance for Departments on the handling of Members' and Peers' Correspondence", published on 21 July last year, sets out best practice. Copies of the guidance are available in the Library.

Ministerial Code

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether the Government plans to amend the Ministerial Code.

Jim Murphy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I provided on 21 March 2006, Official Report, column 202W, to the hon. Member for Hammersmith and Fulham (Mr. Hands).

Council Tax (Official Residences)

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 29 March 2006, Official Report, column 1031W, on council tax (official residences), whether there has been a change in occupancy in any official residence activating revised guidance for Ministers on their liability for council tax on such residences.

Jim Murphy: There has been no such change. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 16 March 2006, Official Report, column 2394W, by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, confirming that the right hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside (Mr. Blunkett) had left his official residence.

Engagements

Ben Wallace: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will attend the birthday celebrations for the Duke of Lancaster in May.

Jim Murphy: The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster's Office will be represented by Duchy Officers at Her Majesty's birthday celebrations.

Equal Pay

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment he has made of the gender pay gap in the civil service.

Jim Murphy: The Cabinet Office undertook an equal pay review for the senior civil service (SCS) in 2002 and equal pay has been re-examined each year since then as part of the Government's evidence to the Senior Salaries Review Body. Under the delegated pay arrangements for staff below the SCS, every Department and agency produced an equal pay action plan in 2003 as part of the Government's commitment to address the gender pay gap. Civil service organisations continue to monitor progress against their action plans and equality-proof their pay systems following implementation of annual pay awards.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Accession State Workers

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of nationals of the new EU member states who were working in a self-employed capacity in the UK on 31 January.

Tony McNulty: The Accession Treaty allows nationals of the new member states to establish a business in the UK if they choose on the same terms as UK nationals.
	Self-employed migrants from the new EU member states are not required to register under the Worker Registration Scheme and as such there are no reliable estimates of the number of self-employed accession nationals in the UK.

Airport Security

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government are taking to safeguard the UK's borders at airports.

Tony McNulty: At major airports, Border Control has staff deployed to meet all services requiring immigration control. At smaller airports, resources are deployed on an intelligence led risk basis to deal with passengers who require leave to enter. The IAN Act 2006 provides additional powers to deal more effectively with people posing a threat to border security, including the capture of data on passengers and fingerprinting of those detained. The Border Management Programme ensures that the three border agencies (HMRC, UKIS and the Police) work more closely together to maximise border security while minimising the impact on legitimate traffic. MATRA groups (Multi Agency Threat and Risk Assessment Group) at airports bring together border agencies, operators and carriers to identify and assess risks to general security and put in place action plans in order to counter any potential threats. e-Borders is a multi agency programme to harness passenger information and use new technology to provide more effective border controls. Project Semaphore, as part of the e-Borders programme, is further strengthening the border through the use of an advance passenger information processing system and the adoption of a proactive intelligence led approach.

Assisted Suicide/Infanticide

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) males and (b) females (i) were found guilty of and (ii) pleaded guilty to complicity in or assisting (A) a suicide and (B) infanticide in Coventry and the West Midlands in the last period for which figures are available.

Hazel Blears: rom the Court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform show that there were no convictions for aiding and abetting suicide in Coventry and the West Midlands in 2004. Offences of complicity in or assisting infanticide cannot be separated from the offence of infanticide itself in the data held. However the records show that there were no convictions for infanticide in Coventry and the West Midlands in 2004.
	Figures for 2005 will be available in the autumn of 2006.

Asylum/Immigration

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his Department's policy is on the deportation of failed asylum seekers to the Democratic Republic of Congo; and if he will intercede in the case of Aleen Monka' bie Izai.

Tony McNulty: Congolese claimants who have been found by the Home Office and the appeals process not to be in need of international protection and have no legal basis of stay in the UK are expected to return to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
	The Home Office works with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to facilitate voluntary returns of failed asylum seekers to any region of DRC. Where an individual does not return voluntarily, removal may be enforced. As with all countries, returns of failed asylum seekers to DRC are considered on an individual case basis.
	With reference to the case of Aleen Monka' bie Izai, while it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the case, any representations received will be fully considered.

Asylum/Immigration

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on granting asylum to refugees from Darfur; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Asylum applications from all nationalities, including Darfuris from Sudan, are assessed on a case by case basis against the background of current country information.
	Current reports from the foremost governmental and non-governmental human rights monitors confirm previously held information that tribal leaders, prominent activists and intellectuals of non-Arab ethnic Darfuri origin are at increasing risk of treatment amounting to persecution outside of the Darfur regions. In these cases the grant of asylum is likely to be appropriate. However, the available country information does not indicate that ordinary non-Arab ethnic Darfuris are likely to be at risk of treatment amounting to persecution outside Darfur. In these cases the grant of asylum is unlikely to be appropriate.

Asylum/Immigration

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures his Department used to assess the suitability of the set of questions recently formulated by a group of senior Anglican clergy to assess the faith of asylum seekers.

Andy Burnham: Asylum caseworkers are trained to conduct interviews in a professional manner and to determine asylum claims fairly in accordance with our obligations under the 1951 Convention. However, cases where an individual claims to be at risk of persecution due to a faith conversion can raise sensitive issues where there are doubts about the genuineness of the conversion. The paper submitted by the clergy does not provide a set of questions to test an individual's conversion but will form the basis for further discussion and use in guidance to caseworkers. This will be taken forward in consultation with the clergy concerned and other stakeholders.

Asylum/Immigration

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for asylum have been rejected on the grounds of asylum but have been approved, whether or not on appeal, on human rights grounds in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: Information on the number of decisions to grant exceptional leave, humanitarian protection or discretionary leave are published quarterly and annually. Copies are available from the Library of the House and on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate web site at http://homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Asylum/Immigration

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for section 4 support were received by National Asylum Support Service in each month since 1 January 2006; and how many of these applications resulted in a grant of such support.

Tony McNulty: Section 4 support statistics are published on a quarterly basis, figures for January, February and March 2006 will be published on 23 May 2006. These will be available on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Asylum/Immigration

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many flights have been made to Erbil airport from the UK for the purpose of returning failed asylum seekers to Iraq in each of the last two years; how many such people have been on these flights; and how many of these were voluntary returns.

Tony McNulty: Between 16 August 2005 and 27 April 2006 there have been 21 charter flights which have returned 1,019 Iraqis under the VARRP (Voluntary Assisted Return and Integration Programme). Prior to 16 August all returns were made by way of flights from the UK to Jordan, with the returnees continuing their journey overland from Amman to Baghdad.
	In the last two years there has been one flight from the UK to Erbil for the purpose of enforcing the removal of failed asylum seekers. This flight was on 20 November 2005 and returned 15 Iraqis.

Asylum/Immigration

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) asylum seekers and (b) migrants are registered with the police.

Tony McNulty: Asylum seekers are not required to register their details with the police, although they may be required to report to the police as a condition of their temporary admission.

Bruche Police Training Centre

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions the Department has held on the future use of the Bruche Police Training Centre.

Hazel Blears: The Bruche site will continue to be used in its capacity as a police training centre up until 26 May this year. Decisions regarding the future of this Centrex site are the responsibility of the Centrex board and Chief Executive. The Home Office remains closely involved in the process of disposing of the site, both through the board and directly with the officials in Centrex. Discussions are not currently focused on the future use of the site as options around future use will depend largely on who takes an interest in purchasing the site once it is placed on the market.

Builders' Tools

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice is given by (a) his Department and (b) the police to builders to secure their materials, tools and properties they are working on to avoid crime; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: Although the Home Office does not offer specific crime prevention advice to builders, it has, in partnership with the business community and police, produced crime prevention advice tailored for all businesses. Guidance such as Your business: Keep crime out of it" and Putting Crime Out Of Business" give practical information to help businesses identify security risks and take measures to reduce crime. They are available on the crime reduction website (http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk/businesscrimeminisite01.htm) and include advice on the safe storage of building materials and security of buildings.
	General crime prevention advice is also available from the police on individual force websites and more detailed crime prevention advice can be obtained by visiting local police stations.

Charities

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those who responded to the consultation on financial thresholds for charities to register with the Charity Commission; and how many of those supported (a) a £10,000 and (b) a £5,000 threshold.

Paul Goggins: The review Private Action, Public Benefit" (Prime Minister's Strategy Unit, 2002) proposed a group of measures to change the registration rules for small charities. An analysis of the response to public consultation on that group of measures can be found in Charities and Not-for-Profits: A Modern Legal Framework" (Home Office, 2003).
	The Government undertook—House of Lords], 28 June 2005, Official Report, column 231—to review, with full public consultation, all the financial thresholds for charities a year after Royal Assent of the Charities Bill which is now before Parliament.
	Changes to the levels of financial thresholds can be made by statutory instrument.

Child Trafficking

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 30 March 2006, Official Report, column 1160W, on child trafficking, where the figures relating to the numbers of children smuggled into the UK are held.

Tony McNulty: The specific information requested is not kept centrally and no reliable statistical information on the potential numbers of children being smuggled to the United Kingdom is available.

Citizen's Arrests

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many citizen's arrests were made in England and Wales in the last two years for which figures are available; and in which areas the (a) highest and (b) lowest number of such arrests were recorded.

Hazel Blears: The information requested is not available centrally.

Convention on the Rights of the Child

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review current reservations to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in relation to the detention of under 18-year-olds.

Tony McNulty: The United Kingdom has two reservations to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, relating to: (i) immigration and nationality, and (ii) children mixing with adults in custodial institutions.
	Regarding children mixing with adults: we have made great progress in achieving separation of under and over-18s in custody, for example by placing girls under 17 in non-Prison Service accommodation and by providing new, special units for 17-year-old girls., We will therefore be considering whether there is a continuing need for the Reservation against Article 37(c) of the Convention; and this review is due to begin shortly.

Correspondence

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Parliamentary Business Unit of the Immigration and Nationality Department will respond to the letters of (a) 20 January 2006 and (b) 28 February 2006 from the hon. Member for Edinburgh, West with regard to his constituent Ms Osibanja Reagan, Home Office reference number O182493.

Tony McNulty: The Immigration and nationality directorate replied to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, West on 25 April 2006.

Correspondence

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the immigration and nationality directorate will reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Warley of 18 January 2006 on behalf of Miss Bloomfield of Oldbury.

Tony McNulty: The immigration and nationality directorate wrote to the right hon. Member on 25 April 2006.

Correspondence

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the immigration and nationality directorate will reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Warley of 17 January on behalf of Mr. and Mrs. McLeish of Oldbury.

Tony McNulty: The immigration and nationality directorate wrote to the right hon. Member for Warley on 26 April 2006.

Correspondence

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter to the immigration and nationality directorate of 6 February 2006 from the hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood, on behalf of Sumithra Wickramage (Home Office Reference W227390/3, Acknowledgement Reference B3928/6).

Tony McNulty: The immigration and nationality directorate wrote to the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood on 26 April 2006.

Correspondence

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood, of 30 January 2006 about Markland Gray (Home Office Reference G1052868, Acknowledgement Reference B2826/6).

Tony McNulty: The immigration and nationality directorate wrote to the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood on 26 April 2006.

Departmental Publications

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which division in his Department was responsible for the commission, design and production of the process flow-charts distributed to hon. Members about the nationality application process, the family indefinite leave to remain exercise, and the work permits UK application process; what the total cost was of the design and production of the flow-charts; to which budget the design and production of the flow-charts were allocated; what total number of man-hours was spent on the design and production of the flow-charts; how many copies of the flow-charts have been produced; and to whom they have been distributed.

Tony McNulty: The process flow-charts were commissioned by the Change and Reform Directorate of the immigration and nationality directorate. They were drafted and designed by IND staff; 700 copies of each of the three maps were printed by an outside supplier at a total cost of £702 . This cost was met by the Change and Reform Directorate budget. In total, approximately 16 man-hours were spent on the design and development of the three maps. A copy of each map was distributed to every member of the House on the 6 April 2006.

Departmental Publications

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has considered producing flow-charts that describe the decision process for the (a) nationality application process, (b) family indefinite leave to remain exercise and (c) work permits UK application process.

Tony McNulty: The production of these flow-charts has been considered. The three flow charts that describe the nationality application process, the 'Family Indefinite Leave to Remain Exercise and the Work Permits UK' application process have been produced and a copy of each has been distributed to every Member of the House.

DNA Database

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 31 January 2006, to Question 49933, how many people who were under the age of 18 years at the time they were arrested and had a DNA sample taken up to and including 1 December 2005 were subsequently not charged or cautioned for any offence.

Hazel Blears: On one December 2005, there were 24,168 persons on the National DNA Database who were under 18 years of age at the time they were arrested and had a DNA sample taken and who were still under 18 on one December 2005 who were subsequently not charged or cautioned for any offence.
	There were around 27,000 persons on the National DNA Database who were under 18 years of age at the time they were arrested and had a DNA sample taken but who had attained the age of 18 by one December 2005 who were subsequently not charged or cautioned for any offence.
	These figures were obtained from data extracted from the Police National Computer (PNC) since they are not available from the National DNA Database.

DNA Database

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to make estimates of the number of (a) juveniles, (b) women and (c) members of ethnic minorities who will be registered on the national DNA database by 1 January 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: We currently have no plans to estimate the future composition of the National DNA Database by age, gender or ethnicity. The right hon. Gentleman will be aware from my answer to his earlier question (41099) that forecasts are made of the overall growth rate and total number of people on the Database. Information is currently being collected from police forces on the use made of DNA for crime detection during the financial year April 2005 to March 2006. When the new data are available, the forecast will be reviewed. It is expected this will be in July 2006.

Domestic Violence

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to define domestic violence; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: Legislation is not required as, since 2004, the Government have a commonly agreed definition of domestic violence:
	'Any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between adults who are or have been intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality.'
	This replaces the various definitions previously used by Government Departments and agencies. The definition was agreed by members of the Inter-Ministerial Group for Domestic Violence which is chaired by the right hon. Baroness Scotland, the Minister of State for Criminal Justice and Offender Management.

Domestic Violence

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what definition he uses of domestic violence; and what the Government's policy is on the intervention of police officers in domestic incidents.

Hazel Blears: The common Government definition (agreed in 2004) of domestic violence is:
	'Any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between adults who are or have been intimate partners or family members', regardless of gender or sexuality.'
	This definition mirrors the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) definition, which ACPO have recommended that all police forces use.
	The Government support the ACPO 'Guidance on Investigating Domestic Violence' which states that:
	'action taken at all stages of the police response should ensure the effective protection of victims and children while allowing the criminal justice system to hold the offender to account. An effective and proactive investigation should be completed in all cases where a domestic violence incident is reported.'
	This guidance has been promulgated in England and Wales through the Centrex (Central Police Training and Development Authority) and CPS training for all police officers and Crown Prosecution Service prosecutors. By 2008, all police officers, CPS prosecutors and caseworkers will be trained in domestic violence.

General Election Leaflets

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the remarks of the Minister of State for Immigration, Citizenship and Nationality, of 21 March 2006, Official Report, columns 214–15, if he will list (a) the candidates and (b) the parties responsible for the general election leaflets from which he quoted; which were the candidates' leaflets which he described as verging on the racist; if he will list the newspaper advertisements which he suggested contained misinformation and lies; and if he will correct the incorrect information to which he referred.

Tony McNulty: I will write to the hon. Member.

General Pinochet

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total public expenditure was on the arrest and detention of General Pinochet.

Hazel Blears: The total cost to public funds of the extradition case of Senator Pinochet was £3,857,108.58. The breakdown of this is as follows:
	1. Total costs incurred by the Home Office: £670,588.82, comprising:
	Treasury Solicitor's fees £63,150.00*
	Disbursements (mainly counsel's fees) £292,385.93*
	Costs of the Kingdom of Belgium and Amnesty International £155,081.68
	Costs of medical examination on 5 January 2000 £11,751.25
	Responding to public correspondence (this covers staff costs where letters were handled in house and Central Office of Information fees where letters were contracted out) £10,941.05
	Staff costs (estimated) £165,778.91*
	Of these two amounts £28,500.00 was recovered from Senator Pinochet under costs orders made against Senator Pinochet by the High Court.
	2. Total costs incurred by the Crown Prosecution Service: £676,691.00, comprising:
	Counsel's fees £425,077.00
	Staff costs (estimated) £137,055.00
	Other costs (interpreters, travel and subsistence and photocopying) £114,559.00
	3. Total costs incurred by the legal secretariat to the law officers: £60,000.00, comprising:
	Staff costs (estimated) £60,000.00
	4. Total costs incurred by the Lord Chancellor's Department: £1,209,775.05:
	The Law Lords ordered that Senator Pinochet's costs should be met from central funds for the first two hearings before the House of Lords in the unusual circumstances of the case. The costs paid from central funds were as follows:
	for the first hearing in the House of Lords £270,935.89; and
	for the application to set aside the judgment following the first hearing in the House of Lords £151,361.30.
	The costs of those divisional court hearings in which Senator Pinochet was successful or which did not proceed, and the costs of the committal proceedings in Bow Street magistrates court from 27 September to 1 October 1999, were also ordered to be paid from central funds. The costs of these hearings were £787,477.86.
	All these costs were ordered to be paid under Section 16 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, and they fall to be paid out of the Lord Chancellor's Department's portion of central funds.
	Senator Pinochet received no legal aid funding in any of the proceedings against him.
	5. Treasury Solicitor's fees: £100,053.76, comprising:
	Amicus Curiae (costs and disbursements including counsel's fees): £71,029.00
	Other costs and disbursements: £29,024.76
	6. Total security costs: £1,200,000.00:
	Responsibility for Senator Pinochet's protection and detention were the responsibility of the Metropolitan Police. For security reasons, it has long been the practice of successive Government's not to provide information about police operations relating to protection.
	The costs incurred by Surrey police relating to general policing and public order matters in relation to Senator Pinochet's residence in Wentworth were £1,200,000.00.
	All of the above figures include value added tax where appropriate.

Home Detention Curfew Scheme

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners released on the home detention curfew scheme were subsequently recalled to prison before their sentence expiry date for committing violent crimes.

Fiona Mactaggart: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Imitation Weapons

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the extent of the use of imitation and replica weapons by criminals.

Hazel Blears: Imitation weapons were used in 30 per cent. of non-air weapon offences in 2006. Detailed figures are published in Quarterly Crime Statistics and Violent Crime Overview 26 January 2006.
	The Violent Crime Reduction Bill includes a number of new provisions to tackle the use of imitation firearms. These include a ban on the manufacture or sale of realistic imitation firearms; tougher manufacturing standards to prevent imitation firearms being converted to fire live ammunition and tougher sentences for carrying imitation firearms.
	
		Table 3.03: Crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales in which firearms were reported to have been used by typeof principal weapon -- Number of offences
		
			  1998–99(7) 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02(8) 2002–03(9) 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Long -barrelled shotgun 322 353 303 380 361 424 305 
			 
			 Sawn-off shotgun 320 340 305 332 310 294 293 
			 
			 Handgun
			 Converted imitation — — — — — — 20 
			 Reactivated — — — — — — 2 
			 Converted air pistol — — — — — — 18 
			 Other — — — — — — 866 
			 Type unknown — — — — — — 3,441 
			 Handgun total 2,687 3,685 4,109 5,874 5,549 5,144 4,347 
			 
			 Rifle 43 67 36 64 52 48 55 
			 
			 Imitation firearm
			 Imitation handgun — — — — — — 354 
			 Soft air weapon — — — — — — 200 
			 BB gun — — — — — — 2,625 
			 Deactivated firearm — — — — — — 1 
			 Blank firer — — — — — — 27 
			 Other Imitation — — — — — — 126 
			 Imitation firearm total 566 823 787 1,245 1,815 2,146 3,333 
			 
			 Unidentified firearm 665 762 950 1,176 1,431 1,356 1,462 
			 
			 Other firearm
			 Unconverted starting gun (10)— (10)— (10)— (10)— (10)— (10)— 9 
			 CS gas — — — — — — 515 
			 Pepper spray — — — — — — 140 
			 Machine gun — — — — — — 25 
			 Stun-gun — — — — — — 142 
			 Other converted imitation weapon — — — — — — 1 
			 Other reactivated weapon — — — — — — — 
			 Disguised firearm — — — — — — 14 
			 Other firearms (specified) — — — — — — 323 
			 Other firearm total 606 813 980 952 730 926 1,178 
			 
			 All weapons excluding air weapons 5,209 6,843 7,470 10,023 10,246 10,338 10,964 
			 
			 Air weapon 8,665 10,103 10,227 12,377 13,822 13,756 11,825 
			 
			 All weapons 13,874 16,946 17,697 22,400 24,070 24,094 22,789 
		
	
	(7) There was a change in the counting rules for recorded crime on 1 April 1998.
	(8) Figures may have been inflated by some police forces implementing the principles of the National Crime Recording Standard before 1 April 2002.
	(9) The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced on 1 April 2002. Figures for some crime categories may have been inflated by this.
	(10) Included in 'Other firearm' total.

Immigration Act

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people under 18 years are currently detained under Immigration Act powers.

Tony McNulty: The number of children detained with their families under Immigration Act powers will change from day to day. However, internal management information shows that, as at 19 April 2006, there were 46 children detained with their families under Immigration Act powers: 42 at Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre and four at Tinsley House Immigration Removal Centre. These figures are not broken down into asylum and non-asylum cases. These individuals were all detained as part of family groups whose detention was considered necessary. The figures provided do not constitute part of the National Statistics and are based on management information. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocol and should be treated as provisional.
	Information on the number of persons detained, as at 31 December 2005, broken down by those who are under 18 years of age, are published in the Quarterly Asylum Bulletin, on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Immigration and nationality directorate will notify Mrs. Robina Kouses, ref: LR1600016626/1 of her immigration status.

Tony McNulty: The immigration and nationality directorate informed Mrs. Kouses of her immigration status on 9 December 2005.

Immigration Detention

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if he will make it his policy to ensure that no decision to detain for purposes of immigration control is made unless a formal age assessment has been undertaken by social services;
	(2)  if he will establish independent age assessment dispute panels comprised of social workers, paediatricians and relevant professionals as part of his immigration detention policy.

Tony McNulty: We are currently reviewing ways in which the age assessment process might be improved. No decision has yet been made on whether independent age assessment dispute panels will be established.
	A person claiming to be under 18 will not be treated as an adult for detention purposes unless there is credible and clear documentary evidence that they are 18 years of age or over, or a full age assessment by social services is available stating that they are 18 years or over, or their physical appearance/demeanour very strongly indicates that they are significantly older than 18 and no other credible evidence exists to the contrary.

Immigration Detention

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to publish monthly statistics on the detention of children for immigration purposes, including (a) overall numbers of children detained, (b) the average length of detention of children, (c) the number of asylum applications involving age dispute issues and (d) the numbers of age disputed asylum applicants who are detained.

Tony McNulty: Statistics on numbers of children detained for immigration purposes and their length of detention are published on a quarterly basis in the asylum statistics bulletin. This can be used to calculate an approximate average time in detention. There are no plans to publish these statistics on a monthly basis.
	The number of asylum cases involving age dispute issues is published in the annual bulletin, Asylum Statistics United Kingdom, in table 2.4, but the number of them who are detained is not held centrally. There are no plans to publish these statistics on a quarterly or annual basis broken down by months.
	The latest available statistics can be found on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Immigration Detention

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his policy on the detention of children; and what assessment he has made of the extent to which it conforms to international standards and guidelines.

Fiona Mactaggart: Young people under 18 may only be sent to custody as a last resort, where the seriousness of the offence or offences committed makes custody unavoidable. Of the roughly 190,000 young people each year who are found to have offended, only about 4 per cent. are sentenced to custody.
	The Government are committed to ensuring that non-custodial interventions are used wherever possible. We have taken major steps to bring that about, for example through the introduction and development of the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme.
	The Government's policy is in accordance with our international commitments, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. We currently have a Reservation against Article 37(c) of the Convention, which relates to the mixing of under- and over-18-year-olds. We will be reviewing the continuing need for that reservation in the near future.

Immigration Detention

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent study he has made of alternatives to the detention of children that are used in other countries for the purpose of immigration control.

Tony McNulty: We are currently conducting a review of the now discontinued American Appearance Assisted Program (AAP) in order to establish whether this provides a suitable model for UK purposes.

Immigration Detention

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action his Department is taking (a) to monitor and (b) to reduce transfers between different detention centres where transfers involve children.

Tony McNulty: There are no specific arrangements to monitor the number of movements of families with children between immigration removal centres. Transfers are kept to the minimum necessary. A dedicated team deals with the allocation of family accommodation and every effort is made to accommodate families in one location throughout their stay, usually at Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre.

Immigration Detention

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy that assessment should be carried out to establish whether it would be better for a child to be detained with his or her family, or separated from it, as part of immigration control procedures.

Tony McNulty: It has very occasionally been the case that, once a child is detained with his/her parents, it has become clear that there are parenting or child protection issues that require intervention from local social services. These issues are never ignored, and the safety and well-being of the child is always paramount in such cases.

Immigration Detention

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ensure that legal advice and representation are available to all who are detained for purposes of immigration control.

Tony McNulty: Information is available at all immigration removal centres (IRCs) about how detainees can obtain legal advice and representation. Information about local firms of solicitors and legal advisers is kept in the libraries of all centres.
	The Legal Services Commission is currently running weekly advice workshops in a number of IRCs. Detainees who do not have legal representation are able to access 30 minutes of free advice at the end of which the client will be taken on or referred onwards.

International Arrest Warrants

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to put before the House his proposals to amend the law to prevent individuals from applying for international arrest warrants; and what discussions he has had on this issue with foreign Governments since 1 February.

Andy Burnham: I cannot indicate at this stage when proposals may be put before Parliament. The Government are still considering a range of issues relating to the issuing of arrest warrants in international cases, but has not yet concluded what changes, if any, are required to existing legislation. Since 1 February, my Department has had discussions on this issue with representatives of Israel.

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of reports that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have used intimidation, extortion and violence against Sri Lankan Tamils living in the UK.

Hazel Blears: The LTTE has been a proscribed organisation in the UK since March 2001. As a consequence of being proscribed, fundraising, recruitment and a number of other activities by or on behalf of the LTTE are all offences under the Terrorism Act 2000.
	Prosecution for those offences is a matter for the police and the prosecution authorities.

National Criminal Justice Board

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how frequently the National Criminal Justice Board meets; who sets the agenda; if he will place in the Library copies of the minutes of its meetings; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: The National Criminal Justice Board (NCJB) meets monthly and its agenda is set by the Minister who chairs the meeting. I will place copies of the board's minutes in the Library.
	The National Criminal Justice Board is the key high-level forum in which the services and departments reporting to the Home Secretary, the Lord Chancellor, and the Attorney-General, come together with the judiciary and others to exercise joint leadership over the Criminal Justice System.
	The role of the NCJB is to develop the vision for Criminal Justice Reform and oversee its delivery, primarily by the 42 local criminal justice boards. The board's tasks include:
	Agreeing outline delivery strategies for shared targets
	Ensuring that agency targets and cross-cutting targets are consistent and support each other
	Reviewing progress and overseeing the management of performance
	Horizon scanning and agreeing areas where future joint work would be useful
	A full membership list and a full description of the board's responsibilities contained in the Terms of Reference follow.
	
		Membership list
		
			 Name Title/Department 
		
		
			 The right hon. Charles Clarke (chair for every third meeting) Home Secretary 
			 Lord Falconer QC (chair) Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs 
			 Lord Goldsmith QC (deputy chair) Attorney-General 
			 Baroness Scotland QC (deputy chair) Minister of State, HO 
			 Des Browne MP Chief Secretary, HM Treasury 
			 Mike O'Brien MP QC Solicitor-General 
			 Paul Goggins MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, HO 
			 Fiona Mctaggart MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary, HO 
			 The right hon. Harriet Harman QC MP Minister of State, DCA 
			 Alex Allan Permanent Secretary, DCA 
			 Jonathan Nancekivell-Smith Cabinet Office 
			 Sir Ronald De Witt Chief Executive, HM Courts Service 
			 Clare Dodgson Chief Executive, Legal Services Commission 
			 Richard Foster Chief Executive, CPS 
			 Chris Fox QPM BSc DIS (representative Maria Wallis) President, ACPO (Chief Constable, Devon and Cornwall) 
			 Sir John Gieve Permanent Secretary, HO 
			 Tim Godwin Assistant Commissioner, Metropolitan Police 
			 Bob Jones Association of Police Authorities 
			 Sir Igor Judge President of Queen's Bench Division, Chair of the Criminal Justice Council 
			 Moira Wallace Director General, CPCT, HO 
			 Ken Macdonald QC Director of Public Prosecutions, CPS 
			 Professor Rod Morgan Chair, Youth Justice Board 
			 Vacant (Helen Edwards—Acting) Chief Executive, NOMS 
			 Kieran Brett No. 10 Policy Unit 
			 John Suffolk Director General, CJ IT 
			 Jane Furniss Acting Chief Executive, OCJR 
			 Neil Ward Service Director, Crime, HMCS 
		
	
	National Criminal Justice Board: Terms of Reference
	The National Criminal Justice Board is responsible for supporting local boards to deliver the CJS's Public Service Agreement on the justice gap and confidence.
	It will do this by:
	Removing barriers to joint working, focusing in on particular concrete aspects of the CJS business process
	Strategic direction of resources to secure achievement of objectives
	Horizon scanning to identify longer term opportunities and threats
	Learning and transferring the lessons from local areas and agencies which have successfully innovated and offer lessons for the rest of the system
	The National Criminal Justice Board also has specific responsibility for:
	Combating inequality and discrimination in the CJS
	Communication across the CJS

National Offender Management Service

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements there are under the National Offender Management Service to ensure joint working for (a) planning, (b) resourcing and (c) implementing the Wales Reducing Reoffending Action Plan; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: A Wales Pathfinder Project was commissioned by the Home Office with the agreement of the Welsh Assembly Government to examine ways of delivering a reducing re-offending strategy within the specific Welsh context. The outcome led to the joint Ministerial launch of Joining Together in Wales: an Adult and Young People's Strategy to Reduce Re-offending.
	The strategy is based on the strong partnership between the National Offender Management Service and the Welsh Assembly Government and forms the basis of a consultation to implement the strategy.
	The outcome of the consultation will help inform the development of a joint action plan that will reflect both the Welsh Assembly Government's responsibilities and those of the National Offender Management Service to reduce re-offending in Wales.

Offences Against the Person Act

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will bring forward proposals that the courts impose a fine or community sentence as the first option for offences under Section (a) 18 and (b) 20 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Government have no plans to restrict courts to non-custodial sentencing options for first time offenders for offences under Sections 18 and 20 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.
	We established a Sentencing Guidelines Council in the Criminal Justice Act 2003. The Council is responsible for issuing guidelines on sentencing for the range of criminal offences. A consultation paper on assaults and other offences against the person was published last year and a draft guideline will be published in due course.

Offences Committed Abroad

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to enable offences which are committed abroad to be subject to further investigation in this country with a view to prosecution.

Fiona Mactaggart: As a general rule, our courts have jurisdiction to try offences that are committed within this country's territory only. This is because generally speaking the Government believe that trials are best conducted in the jurisdiction in which they occurred not least because there are very real difficulties associated with the obtaining of the evidence necessary to effectively prosecute here offences that are committed in foreign jurisdictions. The Government have no plans to depart from this general rule.
	We have exceptionally, however, assumed extra-territorial jurisdiction over some serious crimes such as murder where the factors in favour of the ability to prosecute here outweigh those against. In many cases such jurisdiction is adopted where there is a consensus that action needs to be taken at the international level. Such offending includes terrorism, genocide, war crimes, hijacking, serious corruption, sex tourism and trafficking in human beings. Where extra-territorial jurisdiction is assumed it is often restricted to offences committed by UK nationals abroad.

Overseas Doctors

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether trainee doctors from theCommonwealth will require work permits before they can be interviewed and short listed for medical jobs.

Tony McNulty: Work permits are only issued once a non-EEA national has been offered a relevant post and not at the interview or short listing stage. In most cases the work permit will only be issued where there are no suitable resident workers to take the job.
	The work permit system applies to all non-EEA nationals coming to the UK for employment, unless they qualify under another category of the Immigration Rules. Commonwealth nationals who are not EEA nationals (who are not nationals of the UK, Cyprus or Malta) will therefore require a work permit unless they are otherwise eligible to work in the UK.

Overseas Doctors

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he held with (a) the British Medical Association, (b) organisations representing immigrant doctors and (c) NHS hospital trusts on the recent changes in immigration rules and their impact on doctors; and what discussions he had with the Secretary of State for Health.

Tony McNulty: The permit free training rules were first amended in July 2005, Since then officials have been discussing with COPMED, the BMA Junior Doctors Committee and organisations representing overseas doctors the arrangements for those already in training and to agree what further guidance and clarification is needed to deal with the new arrangements.
	The Department has been working closely with NHS Employers to provide guidance to the NHS.

Overseas Doctors

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what period of grace will be allowed to senior house officers in training in the NHS before they are asked to leave on the grounds of an expired visa.

Tony McNulty: Senior House Officers training in the NHS with leave as a postgraduate doctor or dentist granted prior to the changes will continue on the same conditions as before. Overseas doctors and dentists can use this leave to complete their current training posts and to seek suitable new training posts. Doctors and dentists who want to remain in the UK beyond this time will need to apply for an extension of stay in another category.

Overseas Doctors

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether jobless doctors already in the UK will be able to apply for Tier 1 status.

Tony McNulty: Those currently in the UK with leave as a postgraduate doctor or dentist will be able to use their existing leave to seek suitable new posts until that leave expires. Doctors and dentists wishing to remain after their leave expires will need to apply for an extension of stay in another category.
	In the future, as is currently the case, doctors and dentists will not be granted leave to seek employment. As stated in the Command Paper, A Points-Based System: Making Migration Work for Britain published on 7 March, they will be admitted to the UK as Visitors in order to take the PLAB Test or IQE. If successful in the test, they will be able to switch into the new points based system if they meet the relevant requirements.

Overseas Doctors

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to issue full guidelines on work permits, categories and the detailed operation of the new immigration rules.

Tony McNulty: Full guidance on work permits can be found on the Working in the UK website at www.workingintheuk.gov.uk.
	Full guidance on the new requirements of the Immigration Rules are already available on the IND website at: www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk.
	Details of the implications of the changes for the medical community is available on the NHS Employers website at: www.nhsemployers.org.

Overseas Doctors

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether international medical graduates taking a medical job in the UK can switch the basis of their stay if they have (a) postgraduate leave, (b) leave as a visitor and (c) leave as a dependent of another migrant.

Tony McNulty: There have been no changes to the switching provisions.
	As before, those with leave as a postgraduate doctor or dentist can switch into leave as a work permit holder if they meet the relevant requirements.
	Dependants of certain categories of the Immigration Rules are permitted to take employment in the UK, such as the dependents of work permit holders. However there is no provision for those in the UK with leave as a dependent to switch into work permit employment in their own right.
	There has never been any provision to allow those present in the UK as visitors to switch into work permit employment.

Overseas Doctors

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether doctors with a work permit who change employers as part of their training programme will require a new work permit; and whether the new job is contestable by EU or EEA nationals.

Tony McNulty: Under the current work permit arrangements, doctors on a training programme will be required to obtain a work permit for each part of their training.
	Following the recently announced changes to the rules on Postgraduate Doctors and Dentists transitional arrangements have been put in place to ensure that those who were already in training in the UK on 7 March can switch into the work permit system without their posts needing to be advertised first.
	The Home Office and the Department of Health are continuing to discuss the work permit arrangements for doctors and dentists in training programmes in the UK with the relevant bodies.

Port Security

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the basis was for the allocation of funding for security at the ports of Holyhead and Mostyn in North Wales for (a) 2005–06 and (b) 2007–08.

Tony McNulty: All decisions relating to the allocation of funding of security at ports, including Holyhead and Mostyn, are taken in conjunction with the appropriate security authorities, ensuring that all relevant factors are taken into account.
	Following consultation and widespread support we have consolidated from 2006–07 a range of financial provisions previously made for Counter Terrorism (CT) policing. This includes provision for Dedicated Security Posts (DSP) previously included in the general grant formula. North Wales will receive £3.7 million in DSP funding next year and will be able to bid for further CT funding from a £64 million pot that will be allocated on advice from the Terrorism and Allied Matters Committee of the Association of Chief Police Officers.

Special Constables

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many special constables there are in England and Wales.

Hazel Blears: The information requested for police officers is available from the 'Police Service Strength publication as at 31 March 2005'. This report was published on 25 July 2005 and is available in the Library of the House and on:www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hosb1205.pdf

Police

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the planned funding levels are for (a) Derbyshire, (b) Leicestershire, (c) Nottinghamshire, (d) Lincolnshire and (e) Northamptonshire police forces for (i) 2006–07, (ii) 2007–08 and (iii) 2008–09.

Hazel Blears: Grant funding, where available, is set out in the table. Funding for 2008–09 will be announced in due course as part of the newly introduced multi year funding settlements.
	
		£ million
		
			 Police authority Formula grant allocation 2006–07 Amending report receipts/ payments 2004–05 Amending report receipts/ payments 2005–06 Allocation net of amending reports/ receipts/ payments 2006–07 Formula grant allocation 2007–08 Special formula grant(11), specific grants and capital provision 2006–07 Special formula grant(11), specific grants(12)(5509130013) and capital provision 2007–08 Total grants 2006–07 Total grants 2007–08 
		
		
			 Derbyshire 102.0 0.0 0.3 102.3 105.8 14.3 14.7 116.6 120.5 
			 Leicestershire 107.5 -0.3 -0.2 107.0 111.5 15.0 15.4 122.0 126.5 
			 Lincolnshire 58.3 0.0 0.0 58.3 60.5 17.1 10.7 75.4 71.2 
			 Northamptonshire 69.3 0.1 0.0 69.4 71.7 9.6 10.2 79.0 81.9 
			 Nottinghamshire 127.8 -0.6 -0.4 126.8 132.5 17.6 17.2 144.4 149.7 
		
	
	(11) Special Formula Grant comprises the former specific grants Rural Policing Fund; Special Priority Payments; Forensic (DMA Expansion) Grant.
	(12) Community Support Officers Continuation funding is based on a 3 per cent. uplift.
	(13) 2007–08 figures exclude Pension Deficit Grant that will be based on actual net pensions' costs (estimates are available and used here for 2006–07); and Dedicated Security Posts funding, for which allocations for 2006–07 have been made and are included in the table.

Police

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police per head of population there are in (a) England and Wales, (b) Avon and Somerset police constabulary, (c) Taunton Deane, West Somerset and Sedgemoor Basic Command Unit and (d) Taunton constituency.

Hazel Blears: The available information for England and Wales and Avon and Somerset constabulary is provided in the table.
	The available data for the number of police officers per head of population in each BCU level in Avon and Somerset are provided in the table. Deployment of police officers in Avon and Somerset to basic command units is an operational matter for the chief constable.
	Statistics by constituency are not collected centrally.
	
		Police officers per 100,000 population by area as at31 March 2005
		
			  Male police officers Female police officers Total police officers 
		
		
			 England and Wales 210 57 267 
			 Avon and Somerset 182 43 225 
			 
			 Basic Command Unit1
			 Bath and North East Somerset — — 130 
			 Bristol — — 239 
			 North Somerset — — 122 
			 Somerset, East — — 106 
			 Somerset, West — — 122 
			 South Gloucester — — 110 
			 BCU Total — — 225 
		
	
	(14) BCU data is not collected by gender.

Police

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what he estimates the set-up costs of the new Yorkshire and Humberside police force will be; and from what main areas he expects the projected savings to come.

Hazel Blears: The cost of the proposed reorganisation of North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Humberside police is currently estimated at £39 million. Long-term savings made possible by the merger are estimated at around £18 million per annum. The precise projected level of these costs and savings is a matter for negotiations currently taking place. We have agreed to meet 100 per cent. of reasonable set up revenue and capital costs, net of reasonable savings.
	The main projected savings will come from ongoing reductions in police authorities, command teams from four to one, savings in staff through redeployment and some natural wastage and economies of scale in administrative functions.

Police

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether additional funding will be available in police budgets for 2006–07 for the merging of the Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire police forces.

Hazel Blears: We are committed to paying 100 per cent. of reasonable set up revenue and capital costs of restructuring, net of reasonable savings. The precise projected level of these costs and savings is a matter for negotiations currently taking place.

Police

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the governance arrangement of the new Yorkshire-wide police force will be.

Hazel Blears: An order made under section 32 of the Police Act 1996 amalgamating the Humberside, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire police areas would provide for the establishment of a combined police authority. We have asked the existing police authorities to submit proposals as to the number of members to be appointed to the combined police authority and have indicated that we are ready to provide, for a transitional period, for a slightly larger authority than would be appropriate in the longer term. After the transitional period (which is expected to be for two years) the expectation would be that most police authorities would have no more than 23 members, although a higher number may be appropriate in the case of a new Yorkshire-wide police authority given to need to ensure that all upper tier local authorities in the region have at least one seat on the police authority. From 1 April 2008, when the new force would be established, the combined police authority would have the same duties and responsibilities as existing police authorities with the addition of the new functions provided for in schedule 2 to the Police and Justice Bill.

Police

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the additional costs to individual police force budgets of merging the Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire police forces.

Hazel Blears: The estimated cost of the proposed restructuring in order to improve procedure service of the five East Midlands police forces is £77 million. We will pay 100 per cent. of reasonable set up revenue and capital costs, net of reasonable savings. The precise projected level of costs and savings is a matter for negotiations currently taking place.
	Long run savings from restructuring are currently estimated at £16 million per annum in the East Midlands.

Police

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the set-up costs of a strategic police force for Wales.

Hazel Blears: The estimated set-up costs of a strategic police force for Wales is £35 million. We are committed to paying 100 per cent. of reasonable set-up revenue and capital costs, net of reasonable savings. The precise projected level of these costs and savings is a matter for negotiations currently taking place.
	Long-term savings made possible by the merger are currently estimated at around £16 million a year.

Police

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provision will be made for redundant staff in the event of police reorganisation in Wales.

Hazel Blears: The proposed merger of police forces into new strategic forces addresses an identified weakness in current provision and is intended to strengthen forces' ability to deliver protective services to the public. Decisions about future posts will be for the new strategic forces management teams to determine. The transfer of officers and staff to new strategic forces will be governed by existing regulations and terms and conditions and, with regard to police staff, by the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment Regulations).

Prisons

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 15 March 2006, Official Report, column 2303W, on the Criminal Justice Act, how many prisoners have been given exactly 12-month sentences since the Act came into force; and what estimate has been made of the effect of custody plus on prison numbers.

Fiona Mactaggart: Since the Criminal Justice Act 2003 came into force for offences committed on or after 4 April 2005, 4,245 prisoners were received into prison with custodial sentences of exactly 12 months (the latest data are until the end of February 2006).
	Sentencing in individual cases is entirely a matter for the courts. It is consequently difficult to forecast the effect of custody plus on the prison population with precision. We have modelled various assumptions which suggest an impact of between -675 prison places to +1,630 prison places, depending on how much the courts use the new sentence and the breach rate.
	The Sentencing Guidelines Council will issue guidance to the courts on the use of custody plus. We are working with them, with sentencers and others to ensure that we are best prepared to absorb the impacts that the new sentence will bring.
	These estimates have been made for internal planning purposes and do not constrain the discretion of sentencers in any way. The impacts will be monitored and updated as new data becomes available.

Prisons

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps have been taken to set up an electronic system for the transfer of prisoners' educational records.

Fiona Mactaggart: New, interim arrangements have been rolling out in the three OLASS development regions—north east, north west and south west since January this year to enable electronic access to the offenders' individual learning plans. The specification for the national, longer term system is being developed and procured by the Learning and Skills Council in partnership with NOMS.

Prisons

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many adult prisons have learning support assistants;
	(2)  what progress has been made in ensuring that each prison has a special educational needs co-ordinator.

Fiona Mactaggart: We do not collect information about the availability of learning support assistants in the adult estate and have no plans to introduce special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCo) posts which have been funded for the juvenile estate. This is because, as part of the new Offenders' Learning and Skills Service planned and funded by the LSC, contracted providers will be required to assess individual learners' needs, develop a learning plan, and provide the tailored support which addresses these needs.

Prisons

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were transferred between prisons in the last period for which figures are available.

Fiona Mactaggart: There were 97,975 prisoners transferred between prisons in 2005. Figures for transfers in 2006 are not yet available.

Prisons

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects all prisons holding children to comply with Prison Service Order 4950.

Fiona Mactaggart: All prison establishments are expected to follow the advice and guidance in Prison Service Orders (PSOs), and in particular to comply with their mandatory requirements.
	The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales (YJB) commissions and purchases all secure accommodation for sentenced and remanded young people. The terms of PSO 4950 have been agreed with the YJB. Where non-compliance with particular requirements is identified, the YJB works with providers to support them in achieving compliance.

Prisons

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effect on the levels of mental health care in the community on the number of people serving prison sentences.

Fiona Mactaggart: Information is not available on the effect on community mental health services of prison population levels.
	Although sentencing is a matter for the courts, we know that we continue to imprison too many people with mental health problems.
	As part of Five Year Strategy for Protecting the Public and Reducing Re-offending (Cm 6717, 2006), we are conducting a study into the best way to manage offenders with mental health problems, and will work closely with the Department of Health to make sure they can get access to effective treatment, whether in prison, in hospital or in the community. A copy of the strategy is available in the Library as well as on the Home Office's website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/five-year-strategy?version=1.

Prisons

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to ensure that rehabilitative programmes are adapted to meet the specific needs of women prisoners.

Fiona Mactaggart: A new programme CARE (Choices, Actions, Relationships and Emotions) which addresses personal and circumstantial difficulties has been developed, and is currently being piloted. P-ASRO (Prisoners Addressing Substance Related Offending) has been provisionally accredited for use with women and FOR, a resettlement programme for short-term prisoners was accredited in April 2006.
	Additionally, a democratic therapeutic community which offers a group therapy environment where women can explore and change problem behaviours relating to their offending has been established at Send prison. A programme for women with borderline personality disorder and at high risk of self-harm is being piloted. Good practice guidelines for supporting women who report having been abused is available to all staff.

Prisons

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to ensure that home leave is ordinarily available for women prisoners.

Fiona Mactaggart: Release on temporary licence for home leave is available equally to female and male prisoners who meet the eligibility criteria and pass a rigorous risk assessment. Full details of the eligibility criteria are set out in Prison Service Order 6300 Release on Temporary Licence which is available on the HM Prison Service website.

Prisons

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for theHome Department how many places for women in open prisons have been provided in each of the last 10 years.

Fiona Mactaggart: The figures requested for women's open prisons are set out in the following table. There are no plans, at present, to increase capacity within the women's open prison estate.
	
		Average number of places available by year for women's open and semi-open(15) prisons
		
			  Askham Grange Drake Hall(16) East Sutton Park Morton Hall (17) Total 
		
		
			 1996 128 284 94 — 506 
			 1997 130 281 94 — 505 
			 1998 130 288 94 — 512 
			 1999 130 295 94 — 519 
			 2000 131 270 94 — 495 
			 2001 132 267 94 160 653 
			 2002 139 300 94 225 758 
			 2003 141 315 94 365 915 
			 2004 150 315 94 391 950 
			 2005 136 315 94 391 936 
		
	
	(15) Semi-open conditions: Prisoners who present a low risk to the public but who require a level of physical perimeter security to deter abscond
	(16) Drake Hall was re-designated from open to semi-open in 2002.
	(17) The function of Morton Hall was changed from a male to a semi-open women' s prison in 2001

Prisons

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the appointment of accountable officers with responsibility for women prisoners at each establishment where women are held.

Fiona Mactaggart: All public sector prisons accommodating women do so exclusively. Each has a governor who is accountable to the Home Secretary through operational line management and the chief executive of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS). Two prisons in the contracted estate hold women. One of them has separate male and female sites, each with a head who is accountable to a director. Directors are accountable to the Home Secretary through their regional offender manager, the national offender manager and NOMS chief executive.
	All prisons have an Independent Monitoring Board and are inspected by HM Inspectorate of Prisons. Both bodies are directly accountable to the Home Secretary. There are no plans to create additional or different levels or types of accountability.

Prisons

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many places there have been on prison drug treatment programmes in each of the last 10 years.

Fiona Mactaggart: The numbers of prisoners who have been on an intensive drug treatment programme are given in the following table. There are no centrally recorded figures prior to 2001–02.
	
		
			  Entrants 
		
		
			 2001–02 4,691 
			 2002–03 4,386 
			 2003–04 4,703 
			 2004–05 7,621 
			 2005–06 10,729

Prisons

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for special intensive courses in basic education and drug treatment to be completed by short-term prisoners while in custody.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Government recognise the value of short and smaller qualifications that allow offenders to progress towards full employability, but maintains that the key focus of offender learning should be on achieving results that lead to employment. The Government's proposed overhaul of the National Qualifications Framework in order to create a new Framework for Achievement by 2010 will increase flexibility and offer better opportunities for offender learners to build up credit towards qualifications in smaller units.
	Short term prisoners are able to benefit from a comprehensive range of drug interventions that address the needs of low, moderate and severe drug dependency:
	Clinical services (detoxification and/or maintenance prescribing programmes), available in all local/remand prisons;
	CARATs (Counselling, Assessment, Referral, Advice and Throughcare services), available to all prisoners who are 18 and over;
	The Juveniles Substance Misuse Service, delivered across the Juvenile estate;
	Drug Rehabilitation Programmes—of which 40 are the innovative, high-intensity Short Duration Programme aimed primarily at those serving short sentences.

Prisons

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the selection process for the participation of prisoners in offending behaviour programmes.

Fiona Mactaggart: Prisoners are assessed and their needs identified through various processes, such as induction and sentence planning. Further assessments may be undertaken to ascertain the prisoner's suitability for particular interventions including offending behaviour programmes. Places are then prioritised and allocated accordingly.

Prisons

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will assess the merits of the creation of a specialist not-for-profit agency outside the prison service to co-ordinate investment, marketing and supply for prison industries.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Prison Service has taken a number of steps to increase the performance of prison industries. These include working with a private sector advisor to prison industries and reorganising resources to create a central business development, sales and contract team. Other options will be assessed once the outcome from these initiatives is clear.

Prisons

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to ensure that vocational training and works programmes in prisons are matched to basic labour shortages and skills gaps in the external labour market.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Department for Education and Skills, the Home Office and the Department for Work and Pensions have jointly published a Green Paper: Reducing Re-offending through Skills and Employment (December 2005). This puts the focus on jobs, with employers driving the design and delivery of programmes. One of the key aims of the Green Paper is to explore ways to help more offenders improve their skills and get jobs through better use of prison facilities, with skills training built into other activities such as workshops. The Prison Service will also seek to support more partnerships with commercial organisations to equip workshops with industry standard facilities.
	The responsibility for the planning and delivery of skills in prisons is in the process of being transferred to the Learning and Skills Council who will ensure that the education and skills programmes in prisons relates to the needs of the labour market.
	The National Offender Management Service is also seeking to improve the employment prospects of offenders by focusing on developing links with employers in sectors that have significant labour shortages. These sectors include utilities, hospitality and catering, the construction industry, sports and fitness and industrial cleaning.

Prisons

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his projection is of the prison population in England and Wales by (a) 2010 and (b) 2020; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: The latest prison population projections are published in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin 10/05 Updated and Revised Prison Population Projections, 2005–2011, England and Wales".
	The projections span a total of seven years. There are currently no projected prison population figures beyond 2011.

Proscribed Terrorist Organisations

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria the Government use when placing groups on his Department's list of proscribed terrorist organisations.

Hazel Blears: The criteria for proscription are set out in section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2000, as amended by section 21 of the Terrorism Act 2006. In reaching his decisions, the Secretary of State also takes into account a number of factors including:
	The nature and scale of an organisation's activities
	The specific threat that it poses to the UK
	The specific threat that it poses to British nationals overseas
	The extent of the organisation's presence in the UK
	The need to support other members of the international community in the global fight against terrorism.
	Any decision by the Secretary of State to proscribe an organisation has to be endorsed by both Houses of Parliament.

Recidivism

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will reinstate the public service agreement target to reduce reoffending by 5 per cent.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Home Office remains committed to its spending review 2002 public service agreement target to reduce re-offending by 5 per cent. by 2006 and the spending review 2004 public service agreement standard to at least maintain it at this level thereafter.
	The Home Office strategic plan published in July 2004 also set out our commitment to working towards a 10 per cent. reduction by the end of the decade.
	The Home Office will agree its next set of public service agreements as part of the 2007 comprehensive spending review.

Recidivism

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of prisoners were reconvicted within two years of leaving prison in the last period for which figures are available.

Fiona Mactaggart: The most recent information on the recidivism of adult prisoners is published in Reoffending of adults: results from the 2002 cohort". This is available online at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hosb2505.pdf. In particular, please see Table A.5 of that report.

Recidivism

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if he will make an annual oral statement to Parliament on progress made in implementing the National Action Plan to reduce reoffending;
	(2)  what the timetable is for delivery of the National Action Plan for reducing reoffending.

Fiona Mactaggart: We published the National Action Plan in July 2004. It set out the key actions we would take to reduce reoffending over the next 15 months. In November 2005, the Government published a progress report setting out the considerable progress we had made in delivering the action plan.
	This update on progress was published as part of a new document: The National Reducing Re-offending Delivery Plan. A copy of the Delivery Plan was placed in the Library of the House. This plan sets out the key actions the Government will take to reduce re-offending over the next 18 months. Regular reports on progress against delivery will be made available on the Home Office website. We have no plans to make an oral statement.

Remand

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will commission a comprehensive review of the role of remand in the criminal justice system.

Fiona Mactaggart: Bail and remand is an area of work which is kept under continuous review, with the aim of ensuring that appropriate decisions are made in accordance with the Bail Act 1976, and to improve the processes which underpin the management of bail.
	We are working closely with criminal justice agencies and other stakeholders on a wide-ranging programme of work on bail and remand, directed by the National Criminal Justice Board and delivered at local level through the 42 Local Criminal Justice Boards. This programme focuses on supporting the remand decision-making process, through developing risk assessment tools and improving the information available to decision-makers; increasing first-time compliance with bail, for example through the use of telephone and text reminders and the greater use of sureties and securities; improving the management of bail through the use of inter-agency bail agreements; improving the enforcement of warrants when defendant fail to surrender to bail; and promoting the implementation of the Lord Chief Justice's Practice Direction on bail on dealing robustly with non-attendance.

Road Traffic Offences

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) males and (b) females convicted of an offence under section 14 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 have been fined the maximum amount in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available, broken down by age.

Paul Goggins: Available information from 1995 to 2004 (latest available) is given in the table.
	2005 data will be available early in 2007.
	
		Number of maximum fines(18) given at magistrates courts for offences under s.14 of the Road Traffic Act 1988(19), by sex and age-group, England and Wales 1995 to 2004 -- Number of offences
		
			   Age group 
			  Total fined maximum amount 17 18–19 20–24 (20)25 26–29 30–39 40–49 50+ 
		
		
			 1995  
			 Male 1 — — — 1 — — — — 
			 Female — — — — — — — — — 
			 Other — — — — — — — — — 
			 Total 1 — — — 1 — — — — 
			   
			 1996  
			 Male 1 1 — — — — — — — 
			 Female — — — — — — — — — 
			 Other — — — — — — — — — 
			 Total 1 1 — — — — — — — 
			   
			 1997  
			 Male 2 — — — 2 — — — — 
			 Female — — — — — — — — — 
			 Other — — — — — — — — — 
			 Total 2 — — — 2 — — — — 
			   
			 1998  
			 Male — — — — — — — — — 
			 Female — — — — — — — — — 
			 Other 2 — — — — — — — — 
			 Total 2 — — — — — — — — 
			   
			 1999  
			 Male 3 — — — — — 2 1 — 
			 Female — — — — — — — — — 
			 Other — — — — — — — — — 
			 Total 3 — — — — — 2 1 — 
			   
			 2000  
			 Male 2 — — — 2 — — — — 
			 Female — — — — — — — — — 
			 Other — — — — — — — — — 
			 Total 2 — — — 2 — — — — 
			 2001  
			 Male — — — — — — — — — 
			 Female — — — — — — — — — 
			 Other 2 — — — — — — — — 
			 Total 2 — — — — — — — — 
			   
			 2002  
			 Male 1 — — — — — 1 — — 
			 Female — — — — — — — — — 
			 Other 1 — — — — — — — — 
			 Total 2 — — — — — 1 — — 
			   
			 2003  
			 Male 1 — — — 1 — — — — 
			 Female — — — — — — — — — 
			 Other — — — — — — — — — 
			 Total 1 — — — 1 — — — — 
			   
			 2004  
			 Male — — — — — — — — — 
			 Female — — — — — — — — — 
			 Other 1 — — — — — — — — 
			 Total 1 — — — — — — — — 
		
	
	(18) L2 = £500 for offences under s. 14 Road Traffic Act 1988
	(19) Seat belt offences.
	(20) Ages 17 and 25 separate as they are used as a default age, at Youth and adult courts respectively, when date of birth not known.

Sentencing

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his definition is of a short-term prison sentence.

Fiona Mactaggart: A short term prisoner is an offender sentenced to a custodial term of less than 12 months.

Sex Offenders

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what counselling is available to serious sex offenders (a) whilst in prison and (b) when released into the community to deal with a reliance on hardcore pornography.

Fiona Mactaggart: The main provision for serious sex offenders in prison is accredited offending behaviour programmes. Assessment and treatment would identify and seek to address unhelpful sexual preoccupations including pornography.
	Serious sexual offenders will be subject to licence supervision and a multi-agency risk management plan. Licence conditions may include a requirement to participate in a treatment programme and where appropriate receive medical treatment.

Speeding

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many motorists stopped for breaking the speed limit in 2004 in (a) Southend, (b) Essex, (c) Hertfordshire, (d) the Metropolitan police area of London and (e) England and Wales received a (i) warning and (ii) caution.

Hazel Blears: The annual Home Office publication 'Offences relating to motor vehicles, England and Wales 2004, Supplementary tables', Table 18 gives data by police force area on written warnings (which includes formal cautions) issued by motoring offence groups. Copies of the above publications are available in the Library. The publications can also be accessed on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics (RDS) web site at: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/index.htm
	It is not possible from the data collected centrally to identify Southend within the geographical area covered by the Essex police force.
	2005 data will be available early in 2007.

Speeding

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many speeding offences occurred in Hampshire in each year since 1990.

Paul Goggins: Available information on speeding offences for the Hampshire police force area from 1990 to 2004 (latest available) is given in the table.
	Data for 2005 will be available early in 2007.
	
		Speeding offences(21) dealt with by official police action(22), Hampshire police force area, 1990 -2004 -- Number of offences
		
			  Total offences dealt with (22) 
		
		
			 1990 18,300 
			 1991 18,000 
			 1992 23,700 
			 1993 25,100 
			 1994 37,500 
			 1995 37,600 
			 1996 34,800 
			 1997 33,600 
			 1998 41,400 
			 1999 54,500 
			 2000 34,300 
			 2001 34,900 
			 2002 37,300 
			 2003 51,000 
			 2004 57,200 
		
	
	(21) Offences under the Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984 ss. 16, 81, 84, 86, 88 and 89; Motor Vehicles (Speed Limits on Motorways) Regs 1973; Parks Regulation (Amendment) Act 1926—byelaws made thereunder.
	(22) Includes written warnings, fixed penalty notices and court proceedings.

Theft Act

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the operation of sections 4, 4A, 4B and 4C of the Theft Act 1968.

Hazel Blears: In general this part of the Theft Act 1968 appears not to give rise to operational problems. If the hon. Gentleman has any particular concern I would be glad to learn of it.

UK Identity and Passport Service

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what access the UK Identity and Passport Service has to information held by (a) HM Revenue and Customs and (b) the Valuation Office Agency.

Andy Burnham: The Identity and Passport Service is not routinely provided with information held by HM Revenue and Customs or the Valuation Office Agency. IPS will occasionally obtain information held by HMRC on a case-by-case basis (under the exemption in section 29 of the Data Protection Act 1998) where this is necessary for the prevention or detection of crime or the apprehension or prosecution of offenders.

Violent Crime Reduction Bill

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the Violent Crime Reduction Bill on (a) historical re-enactment groups and (b) collectors of historical weaponry.

Hazel Blears: The Bill provides a defence which will allow the sale of realistic imitation firearms for the purpose of specified historical re-enactments. Groups will also be allowed to use any realistic imitation firearms they currently possess and any firearms held on a certificate. De-activated firearms have been excluded from the definition of realistic firearm, as have imitations of firearms designed before 1870. The Bill will not stop collectors from keeping the realistic imitation firearms they already own but they will be unable to sell them in this country or to buy new ones unless it is for the purposes of a museum or gallery.

Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what response he has made to the report and recommendations of the Children's Commissioner on the Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: We responded, in February 2006, to each of the recommendations made by the Children's Commissioner in his report of his visit to Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre. A copy of our response has been placed in the House Libraries.

Work Permits

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many work permits were issued for (a) doctors and (b) nurses and auxiliary nurses from (i) Nigeria, (ii) Ghana and (iii) other African countries in each of the last 10 years.

Tony McNulty: The following table displays the number of work permits issued for (a) doctors and (b) nurses and auxiliary nurses from (i) Nigeria, (ii) Ghana and (iii) other African countries each year since 2000. Figures of permits issued prior to 2000 are not available due to a change in Home Office IT systems.
	
		
			 Nationality/occupation 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Total 
		
		
			 Ghana
			 Doctor 0 7 10 18 19 18 72 
			 Nurse 310 527 631 763 743 640 3,614 
			 Total 310 534 641 781 762 658 3,686 
			 
			 Nigeria
			 Doctor 0 28 55 64 88 97 332 
			 Nurse 916 1,160 1,703 1,316 1,329 1,151 7,575 
			 Total 916 1,188 1,758 1,380 1,417 1,248 7,907 
			 
			 Other African countries
			 Doctor 0 229 1,000 830 718 472 3,249 
			 Nurse 3,406 5,720 7,518 7,540 7,405 5,667 37,256 
			 Total 3,406 5,949 8,518 8,370 8,123 6,1391 40,505 
			 
			 Total 4,632 7,671 10,917 10,531 10,302 8,045 52,098

Young Offenders

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what plans he has to develop the work of the Young Offender Programme through an increased number of partnership arrangements with employers;
	(2)  if he will assess with private sector companies the prospects for extending the approach taken by the National Grid Transco Foundation in training and resettling young offenders.

Fiona Mactaggart: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is working closely with National Grid to consider the options for extending the programme to other prison establishments as well as to offenders in the community. National Grid is also developing links with businesses outside the utilities sector.
	Under the Reducing Re-offending Corporate Alliance, which was launched last November, NOMS is actively encouraging more businesses to engage with offenders, by working with them to improve their employability, by being involved in the design of training programmes, and by offering employment.
	There is a strong emphasis in the Reducing Re-offending through Skills and Employment Green Paper, which was published in December 2005, on education and training for young offenders, including improving their access to programmes to ensure that they are ready to undertake work.

Young Offenders

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to ensure that the expenditure on young offenders is brought up to meet the level of additional expenditure that the Youth Justice Board has made on the juvenile estate.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Government has invested heavily in improved regimes for all prisoners, concentrating on activities such as education and vocational training, which are of particular value to young adults. To address the specific needs of this group, the Home Office has also established a project to develop a strategy and standards for the management of these offenders in custody and the community. This will include consideration of the financial implications of any proposed changes.

TREASURY

Barker Review

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Barker Review's inquiry into planning policy.

John Healey: The Chancellor and the Deputy Prime Minister have invited Kate Barker, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England, to conduct a review of land use planning in England. An interim report is due to be published in the summer. Further information, including the formal terms of reference is available at www.barkerreviewofplanning.org.uk

Barker Review

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library copies of responses to the Barker Review.

John Healey: The responses to the call for evidence for the Barker Review of Land Use Planning will be available on www.barkerreviewofplanning.org.uk in due course. I have requested that Kate Barker make copies available to the House.

Benefit Eligibility

Michael Gove: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how long a national from another EU member state needs to have been resident in the UK before being eligible to receive child benefit; and what the residency period will be after directive 2004/38/EC comes into force;
	(2)  how long a national from another EU member state needs to have been resident in the UK before being eligible to receive (a) working tax credit and (b) child tax credit; and how long the residency periods will be after directive 2004/38/EC comes into force.

Dawn Primarolo: To claim tax credits or child benefit, irrespective of their nationality any person making a claim must be both present and ordinarily resident in the UK. This means that he or she must be physically present in the UK throughout the period of the award, although a temporary absence of up to eight, or in some cases, 12 weeks may be disregarded.
	Since 1 May 2004, a person claiming child tax credit and child benefit must also have a right to reside in the UK under national or EC law. An EU national will generally only have a right to reside if they are working in the UK, or if they have been working in the UK for some time and ceased working. If they are not working in the UK, an EU national will generally only have a right to reside if they have sufficient resources or income to avoid becoming a burden on the social assistance system of the UK.
	These rules will not change as a result of the introduction of the directive 2004/38/EC.

Business Investment

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 25 April 2006, Official Report, column 1045W, on business investment, if he will give the page reference of the latest OECD Economic Outlook at which the requested data may be found.

John Healey: The data are available from the OECD database that supports the Economic Outlook through www.sourceOECD.org. This database is available through the House of Commons' Library. The following web address links to the Economic Outlook database within Source OECD, from where business investment and GDP data, in volume terms, can be downloaded for all OECD economies and the OECD as a whole. Business investment growth rates can also be determined using this data.
	http://lysander.sourceoecd.org/vl=4960925/cl=24/nw=1/rpsv/oecd_database.htm
	The Economic Outlook was published in late 2005, so 2004 is the latest year for which outturn data is available.

Climate Change

Colin Challen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of when the measures set out in his speech to the UN ambassadors on 20 April will achieve a sustainable concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

John Healey: The global nature of the causes and effects of climate change means that international action is crucial. The measures in the Chancellor of the Exchequer's speech to the UN ambassadors highlight how co-ordinated international action can bring significant emissions reductions. These proposals aim to drive forward effective multilateral action. In particular, the Multilateral Development Banks' Energy Investment Framework, and an extension of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and the Clean Development Mechanism will have significant impacts in reducing global emissions, encouraging the development of a deeper and more liquid global carbon market. However, details of these proposals have not yet been finalised with international partners and institutions, so an assessment of their impact would be premature. Action is also needed to tackle greenhouse gas emissions from consumers, and the 1 Watt initiative which the Chancellor proposed has significant potential to reduce global emissions and should be accelerated.

Correspondence

John Stanley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Paymaster General will reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Tonbridge and Malling regarding her tax credits statement made on 22 June 2005.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 27 April 2006
	I have replied to the right hon. Member.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will answer the letter to him dated 14 February from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Julie Reid.

Dawn Primarolo: I have done so.

Council Tax

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost was of the one-off payment to pensioners towards their council tax bills in 2005–06; and what the estimated cost is for 2006–07.

Stephen Timms: The cost of the £200.00 payment to pensioners to help with their council tax bills in 2005–06 was £1,067 million. There are no plans to make a similar payment for 2006–07.
	The tables can be viewed at DWP website at http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/expenditure.asp
	Source:
	DWP Expenditure tables.

Demographics

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the population in each electoral ward in the constituency of (a) Cleethorpes, (b) Great Grimsby, (c) Scunthorpe and (d) Brigg and Goole based on (i) the 2001 census, (ii) electoral registers and (iii) patient registers.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 2 May 2006
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your question regarding the population in each electoral ward in the constituencies of (a) Cleethorpes, (b) Great Grimsby, (c) Scunthorpe and (d) Brigg and Goole based on (i) the 2001 Census, (ii) electoral rolls and (iii) patient registers. (67043)
	The table attached provides the information you have requested. The most recent population estimates for wards are for mid-2002. The ward population estimates have been published with the status of experimental statistics". Therefore the estimates should be treated with some care.
	The latest available ward electorate counts are for December 2005. The ward electorate counts are for parliamentary electors, including attainers. Local government electorate counts are not available at ward level.
	It should be noted that the number of people eligible to vote is not the same as the resident population aged 18 and over. There are numerous reasons for this. For example not everyone who is usually resident is entitled to vote (foreign citizens from outside of the EU and Commonwealth, prisoners, etc. are not eligible), some people do not register to vote and people who have more than one address may register in more than one place. Further, there is inevitably some double counting of the registered electorate as electoral registration officers vary in how quickly they remove people from the registers after they have moved away from an area or after they have died. These factors have a differential impact from area to area.
	The latest available ward patient register counts are for July 2004.
	It should be noted that patient register counts differ from estimates of the usually resident population for a number of reasons. Patient registers include people who are in the country for at least three months, whereas population estimates are based on a usual residence definition requiring a stay of 12 months or more. The patient registers exclude individuals who are ineligible to be registered with a GP. People may be on a patient register after having left the country and not deregistered with their GP; similarly people may have moved to another area and not re-registered. Some patients may have more than one NHS number e.g. they may have been issued a temporary number for a short period. Again, these factors have a differential impact from place to place.
	
		Wards in Brigg and Goole, Cleethorpes, Great Grimsby and Scunthorpe constituencies: population estimates, electorate counts (December 2005), and patient register counts (July 2004)
		
			 Ward Name Constituency Population estimate constituency mid-2002 Parliamentary electors December 2005 Patient register July 2004 
		
		
			 Barton Cleethorpes 9,600 7,857 10,256 
			 Croft Baker Cleethorpes 11,500 8,793 12,043 
			 Ferry Cleethorpes 10,300 8,460 10,916 
			 Haverstoe Cleethorpes 10,300 8,274 10,498 
			 Humberston and New Waltham Cleethorpes 10,100 8,626 10,934 
			 Immingham Cleethorpes 11,800 8,698 12,485 
			 Sidney Sussex Cleethorpes 12,900 8,718 13,298 
			 Waltham Cleethorpes 7,000 5,631 7,153 
			 Wolds Cleethorpes 7,000 5,637 7,366 
			 East Marsh Great Grimsby 11,500 7,765 12,153 
			 Freshney Great Grimsby 10,000 7,560 10,485 
			 Heneage Great Grimsby 11,700 8,218 12,235 
			 Park Great Grimsby 11,800 8,968 12,516 
			 Scartho Great Grimsby 9,500 7,823 10,017 
			 South Great Grimsby 12,800 8,535 13,293 
			 West Marsh Great Grimsby 7,600 5,165 7,737 
			 Yarborough Great Grimsby 12,000 8,797 12,318 
			 Ashby Scunthorpe 9,300 7,575 9,764 
			 Bottesford Scunthorpe 11,500 9,385 11,763 
			 Brumby Scunthorpe 11 ,500 8,464 12,450 
			 Crosby and Park Scunthorpe 11,600 8,520 12,840 
			 Frodingham Scunthorpe 7,700 5,808 8,185 
			 Kingsway with Lincoln Gardens Scunthorpe 10,200 8,361 10,908 
			 Ridge(23) Scunthorpe 12,200 9,884 12,642 
			 Town Scunthorpe 7,300 5,604 8,215 
			 Axholme Central Brigg and Goole 6,600 5,405 7,069 
			 Axholme North Brigg and Goole 7,500 6,126 7,749 
			 Axholme South Brigg and Goole 6,700 5,581 7,110 
			 Brigg and Wolds Brigg and Goole 10,500 8,828 11,503 
			 Broughton and Appleby Brigg and Goole 6,400 5,254 6,620 
			 Burringham and Gunness Brigg and Goole 3,700 3,154 3,809 
			 Burton upon Stather and Winterton Brigg and Goole 10,900 8,856 11,326 
			 Goole North Brigg and Goole 9,900 8,035 10,343 
			 Goole South Brigg and Goole 9,100 7,024 9,745 
			 Ridge(23) Brigg and Goole 12,200 9,884 12,642 
			 Snaith, Airmyn, Rawcliffe and Marshlai Brigg and Goole 8,900 7,693 9,419 
		
	
	(23) Ridge ward falls within both Scunthorpe, and Brigg and Goole constituencies, data for the whole ward are shown.
	Notes:
	1. The mid-2002 ward population estimates are consistent with the published mid-2002 local authority estimates (September 2004 revisions) and have been rounded to the nearest hundred
	2. Parliamentary electors are those people who are entitled to vote in parliamentary elections at Westminster and who meet the residence qualification. Those include overseas voters but exclude Peers and European citizens
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics

Departmental Initiatives

Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the departmental initiatives for each year since 2000 which required bids for funding from (a) voluntary organisations and (b) local authorities together with the total resource allocated to each initiative in each year; how many successful bids there were in each year; what proportion this figure represents of the total bids received; and what assessment he has made of the costs of (i) preparing bids for each initiative and (ii) assessing those bids.

John Healey: During the period in question, the Treasury has not paid any grants directly to voluntary organisations or local authorities.
	However, the Treasury oversees the allocation of resources from the Invest to Save Budget (ISB), which was established in 1998. The Treasury transfers resources to the relevant central Government sponsoring Department, who then allocate it directly to the delivery organisations. There have been eight rounds of resource allocation since this time. The first round was restricted to central Government Departments and their agencies; each subsequent round has been open to local authorities and the voluntary sector. In 2004, the ISB was re-branded as the 'ISB: Inclusive Communities Fund', with priority given to community level, voluntary sector-led initiatives. In total, some £97 million has been allocated to voluntary sector-led community projects since 1998. The Budget announced that a 9th resource allocation round would take place next year, with a focus on the third sector's role in building fairer communities and delivering public services. Further information about the ISB is available from www.isb.gov.uk.

Equal Pay

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps are undertaken within his Department to ensure that women are obtaining equal pay to men doing work of equal value.

John Healey: HM Treasury undertakes annual gender pay reviews. Three reviews have been undertaken and these have shown no significant differences in pay between men and women.

EU Financial Services Action Plan

Michael Gove: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer at what stage of the (a) legislative and (b) implementation process the measures in the EU Financial Services Action Plan are; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: Of the 42 measures contained in the EU Financial Services Action Plan, 41 have been adopted; only the transfer of seat directive has still to be adopted.
	Of these 42 measures, 16 are commission communications or recommendations which do not require transposition into member states' national law and regulations. For a further seven measures the deadline for implementation has not yet been reached. The remaining 19 measures have been implemented, although in the case of the directive on occupational retirement provision there remains a small element of the directive which has yet to be transposed.

Financial Capability

Andrew Love: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what initiatives his Department and its non-departmental bodies support to promote (a) financial education, (b) financial advice, (c) financial inclusion and (d) financial capability; and for each initiative (i) which organisations are involved in delivering it and (ii) how much funding is provided by (A) his Department and its non-departmental public bodies, (B) other Government Departments, (C) the private sector and (D) the voluntary sector.

Ivan Lewis: The Government fully support initiatives to promote the increase of financial education and inclusion. Financial education generally is delivered through the Department for Education and Skills and it is for that Department to decide which organisations should help deliver it. Although we promote financial education as part of a government initiative such as the Child Trust Fund or Saving Gateway, costs are not broken down to show separate funding for financial education. The cost of the Child Trust Fund is forecast at £240 million each for the years 2005–06 to 2007–08 and £15 million for the second pilot launched in spring 2005 for Saving Gateway.
	A range of stakeholder savings and investment products was launched in April 2005, in support of this a publicity campaign to raise awareness of the features and benefits of these products ran from September 2005 to March 2006 at a total cost of £4 million.
	In promoting financial inclusion the Government have established a framework for delivery, including a Financial Inclusion Fund of £120 million over three years and a Financial Inclusion Taskforce to oversee progress. The taskforce was formally launched in February 2005. Details of the fund are published on the Treasury website at www.hm-treasury.gov.uk.
	The National Strategy for Financial Capability was set up in 2004 and is led by the Financial Services Authority in partnership with the Government, the financial services industry and voluntary organisations. The FSA published, in March 2006 a programme on initiatives to promote financial capability. Further information about the strategy can be found on the FSA website at http://www.fsa.gov.uk/financial_capability/. While total costs incurred by all partners are not available, the FSA's contributions were £2.5 million in 2003–04, £4 million in 2004–05, and £8 million in 2005–06. The FSA's business plan for 2006–07 includes provision for up to £10 million. The FSA has not yet set a budget for 2007–08.
	The Treasury does not keep records of the funding of these issues by other Government Departments or the private and voluntary sectors which are matters for them to decide.

Financial Capability

Andrew Love: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much funding was provided by Government departments and non-departmental public bodies to support initiatives to promote (a) financial education, (b) financial advice, (c) financial inclusion and (d) financial capability in (i) 2003–04, (ii) 2004–05 and (iii) 2005–06; and how much will be provided under current spending plans in (A) 2006–07 and (B) 2007–08.

Ivan Lewis: The Government fully supports the need to improve financial education and inclusion. Although we promote financial education as part of the Child Trust Fund and Saving Gateway initiatives there is no breakdown of the costs of these budgets to show separate funding for financial education. However, the cost of the Child Trust Fund is forecast at £240 million each for the three years 2005–06 to 2006–07 and £15 million was provided to launch the second Saving Gateway pilot in spring 2005. Likewise there is no specific funding for financial advice though £4 million provided to fund a publicity campaign to raise awareness of Stakeholder savings and investment products from September 2005 to March 2006.
	The Financial Inclusion Fund launched in April 2005 has a budget of £120 million over three years and will largely support the increase in the provision of free face to face money advice and provide support to third sector lenders providing affordable credit. Details of the breakdown of the fund have been published and can be found on the Treasury website at www.hm-treasury.gov.uk.
	The National Strategy for Financial Capability is led by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in partnership with the Government, the financial services industry and voluntary organisations. The FSA published, in March 2006, a programme of initiatives to promote financial capability http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pubs/other/fincapdelivering.pdf. While total costs incurred by all partners are not available, the FSA's contributions were £2.5 million in 2003–04, £4 million in 2004–05 and £8 million in 2005–06. The FSA's Business Plan for 2006–07 includes provision for up to £10 million. The FSA has not yet set a budget for 2007–08.

Fuel Prices

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average (a) dollar and (b) sterling price was for a barrel of crude oil extracted in (i) the United Kingdom and (ii) each OPEC country in each week since October 2005.

John Healey: Weekly price information (in US dollars per barrel) for the main benchmarks of each oil producing country is available at the following website: http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_pri_wco_k_w.htm
	Exchange rate data is available at the following website: http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/statistics/index.htm

Fuel Prices

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average price was of a gallon of unleaded fuel in (a) Essex, (b) Hertfordshire, (c) inner London and (d) outer London in each week since August 2005.

Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Gershon Review

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made with implementing the recommendations of the Gershon review.

Des Browne: The Budget 2006 reported provisional annual efficiency gains totalling £6.4 billion by the end of December 2005 and 40,400 gross workforce reductions, including 7,150 reallocations to frontline services. Departments will report on further progress in their forthcoming departmental reports.

Import Duties

David Burrowes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the Government are doing to ensure the effective collection of import duties at UK airports.

John Healey: All importers, or agents acting on their behalf, are legally obliged to lodge customs declarations when bringing goods into the UK from non-member states of the European Community. The overwhelming majority of import declarations are made by electronic means and HM Revenue and Customs computer system (CHIEF) calculates the amount of duties due. To ensure that the right amount of duties is paid import declarations may be checked at either pre or post-clearance to confirm their accuracy.

Income Tax

Andrew George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 19 April 2006, Official Report, column 692W, on income tax, what further estimates he has made of income to the Inland Revenue if the same incomes in the upper rate of income tax has only applied to those earning over £100,000.

Dawn Primarolo: The following table provides yields from introducing an additional higher tax rate on earnings and savings income above £100,000.
	
		Year: 2006–07
		
			 Higher rate of tax (per cent.)(24) Yield (£ billion) 
		
		
			 45 1.9 
			 50 3.8 
			 51 4.2 
			 52 4.6 
			 53 5.0 
			 54 5.3 
			 55 5.7 
			 56 6.1 
			 57 6.5 
			 58 6.9 
			 59 7.3 
			 60 7.6 
			 65 9.6 
			 70 11.5 
		
	
	(24) The new higher tax rate applies to earnings and savings income only. Dividends at the higher rate remain taxed at 32.5 per cent.
	The income tax information is based upon the 2003–04 Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI) and projected forward in line with 2006 Budget assumptions.
	The figures exclude any estimate of behavioural response, which could be significant given the scale of the changes.

Industrial Injury Claims

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the practice of banks loaning money for legal expenses in pursuing industrial injury claims.

Ivan Lewis: So far as I am aware, the Treasury has not received any representations on this practice.

International Finance Facility

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what use he expects to be made of the international finance facility to make progress with the research, development and delivery of new vaccines and new diagnostic methods to fight malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases in the developing world.

Ivan Lewis: The international finance facility for immunisation (IFFIm) will provide $4 billion over the next 10 years to support efforts of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI Alliance) to tackle preventable diseases in the 72 poorest countries in the world. France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Brazil and the UK have already announced that they will make contributions to the IFFIm, and on 25 April, South Africa announced that they would also contribute to the IFFIm. It is expected that the IFFIm will save a total of 10 million lives from preventable diseases, including five million children before 2015.
	Alongside the IFFIm, the UK and G8 partners are currently working on the proposal for advanced market commitments (AMCs). AMCs are a potentially powerful and cost-effective market-based mechanism to accelerate and stimulate the development and availability of priority new vaccines against diseases like pneumococcus, malaria and TB which kill millions in each year in developing countries.

Low-income Households

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many households earning less than £425 per week (a) pay income tax and (b) do not claim working tax credit.

Dawn Primarolo: Information for part (a) is not available except at disproportionate costs since our income tax data covers individuals, not households.
	For part (b) , estimates of the number of families, broken down by income used to calculate entitlement, who are entitled to, but not claiming tax credits are given in tables 4 and 11 of the publication Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit Take-up Rates 2003–04" available on the HMRC website at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/takeup_rates_2003–04—mar06.pdf. Estimates for those earning below the exact income level specified (£425 per week) would be available only at disproportionate cost.

Microgeneration Technologies

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much of the funding to develop microgeneration technologies announced in the Budget has been allocated for each financial year; and how much of the funding in each financial year is additional funding to that previously allocated.

John Healey: The £50 million announced in the Budget for microgeneration is divided equally between financial years 2006–07 and 2007–08.
	This £50 million is in addition to the £30 million that had already been announced for the Low Carbon Buildings Programme.

Millennium Development Goals

Colin Challen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of when the Millennium Development Goals will be achieved.

Ivan Lewis: The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were agreed at the United Nations Millennium summit in September 2000. The goals range from halving global income poverty and protecting the environment, to human development objectives like improving health and sanitation, achieving universal primary education and tackling discrimination against women. Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has been placed at the centre of Britain's international development effort. DFID's key aims and objectives, as set out in its public service agreement, are the attainment of the MDGs by 2015.
	On income poverty there has been progress but is has been very uneven and on current trends few African countries will reach the MDG by 2015.
	On the human development goals the situation is more concerning and South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are off-track on all of them.
	The MDGs and global poverty were at the heart of the UK presidencies of the EU and the G7/8 in 2005. The international community committed to raise an additional $50 billion of aid by 2010, to cancel 100 per cent. of the multilateral debts of the world's poorest countries, and to launch the international finance facility for immunisation. G8 leaders also agreed to achieve universal access to AIDS treatment for all those who need it by 2010, and work on advance market commitments for vaccines against malaria, HIV/AIDS and other priority diseases.
	These are the sorts of measures needed to get progress towards the MDGs back on track. The key challenge now is for donors to fully implement their commitments and for developing countries to develop 10-year plans to meet the MDGs.

Mortgage Income Tax Relief

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many households benefited from mortgage income tax relief in (a) 1996–97 and (b) 1997–98.

Ivan Lewis: The numbers of households benefiting from mortgage interest relief in 1996–97 and 1997–98 are available at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/mir/table5–2.xls.

Shared Appreciation Mortgages

Michael Fallon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials have had with the Financial Services Authority on shared appreciation mortgages.

Ivan Lewis: HM Treasury officials have had one conversation with the Financial Services Authority about shared appreciation mortgages in 2006.

Pay Statistics

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the gross weekly pay of full-time employees in the constituency of (a) Cleethorpes, (b) Great Grimsby, (c) Scunthorpe and (d) Brigg and Goole was in each year since 2000.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 2 May 2006
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question to ask what the average earnings of full-time employees in a) Cleethorpes, b) Great Grimsby, c) Scunthorpe and d) Brigg and Goole constituencies was in each year since 2000. (67053)
	Average earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), and are provided for full time employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey period was not affected by absence. This is the standard definition used for ASHE. The ASHE does not collect data on the self employed and people who do unpaid work.
	I attach tables showing Average Gross Weekly Earnings by parliamentary constituency for the years 2000 to 2005 for Full Time Employees on Adult Rates. These statistics are already published on the National Statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=13101.
	The ASHE, carried out in April of each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. It is a one per cent sample of all employees who are members of pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) schemes.
	
		Gross weekly (£) pay for all employee jobs(25) by parliamentary constituency
		
			  Cleethorpes 
			  By place of work By place of residence 
			  Median Mean Median Mean 
		
		
			 2000 **329 *360 (26)— (26)— 
			 2001 *362 *407 (26)— (26)— 
			 2002 *381 *441 *358 402 
			 2003 *423 *460 *383 428 
			 2004 *401 435 *399 *447 
			 2004(27) *394 426 *396 *445 
			 2005 *458 502 *404 458 
		
	
	(25) Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence.
	(26) Denotes data not collected before 2002.
	(27) Includes Supplementary survey data.
	Notes:
	Guide to quality:
	The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality.
	The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV e.g. for an average of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent., we would expect the population average to be within the range 180 to 220.
	Key
	CV<=5%
	* CV>5% and<=10%
	** CV>10% and<=20%
	The median replaces the mean as the headline statistic. The weighted mean is the sum of the weighted values divided by the sum of the weights. The median is the value below which 50 per cent. of employees fall. It is preferred over the mean for earnings data as it is influenced less by extreme values and because of the skewed distribution of earnings data.
	Source:
	Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics.
	
		Gross weekly (£) pay for all employee jobs(28) by parliamentary constituency
		
			  Great Grimsby 
			  By place of work By place of residence 
			  Median Mean Median Mean 
		
		
			 2000 *317 *366 (29)— (29)— 
			 2001 *316 350 (29)— (29)— 
			 2002 *337 365 *318 354 
			 2003 *344 *400 *345 376 
			 2004 *360 *420 *357 *398 
			 2004(30) *356 *424 *350 *391 
			 2005 *365 427 *359 415 
		
	
	(28) Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence.
	(29) Denotes data not collected before 2002.
	(30) Includes Supplementary survey data.
	Notes:
	Guide to quality:
	The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality.
	The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV e.g. for an average of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent., we would expect the population average to be within the range 180 to 220.
	Key
	CV<=5%
	* CV>5% and<=10%
	The median replaces the mean as the headline statistic. The weighted mean is the sum of the weighted values divided by the sum of the weights. The median is the value below which 50 per cent. of employees fall. It is preferred over the mean for earnings data as it is influenced less by extreme values and because of the skewed distribution of earnings data.
	Source:
	Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics.
	
		Gross weekly (£) pay for all employee jobs(31) by parliamentary constituency
		
			  Scunthorpe 
			  By place of work By place of residence 
			  Median Mean Median Mean 
		
		
			 2000 *345 386 (32)— (32)— 
			 2001 *365 387 (32)— (32)— 
			 2002 *387 406 *406 417 
			 2003 *413 442 *406 436 
			 2004 *430 458 *419 434 
			 2004(33) *413 451 *406 418 
			 2005 *442 *492 *442 465 
		
	
	(31) Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence.
	(32) Denotes data not collected before 2002.
	(33) Includes Supplementary survey data.
	Notes:
	Guide to quality:
	The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality.
	The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV e.g. for an average of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent., we would expect the population average to be within the range 180 to 220.
	Key
	CV<=5%
	* CV>5% and<=10%
	The median replaces the mean as the headline statistic. The weighted mean is the sum of the weighted values divided by the sum of the weights. The median is the value below which 50 per cent. of employees fall. It is preferred over the mean for earnings data as it is influenced less by extreme values and because of the skewed distribution of earnings data.
	Source:
	Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics.
	
		Gross weekly (£) pay for all employee jobs(34) by parliamentary constituency
		
			  Brigg and Goole 
			  By place of work By place of residence 
			  Median Mean Median Mean 
		
		
			 2000 *333 *379 (35)— (35)— 
			 2001 *361 391 (35)— (35)— 
			 2002 *376 **453 *390 *442 
			 2003 *366 *420 *409 *455 
			 2004 *438 *477 *415 462 
			 2004(36) *441 *467 *400 453 
			 2005 *415 *453 *468 **591 
		
	
	(34) Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence.
	(35) Denotes data not collected before 2002.
	(36) Includes Supplementary survey data.
	Notes:
	Guide to quality:
	The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality.
	The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV e.g. for an average of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent., we would expect the population average to be within the range 180 to 220.
	Key
	CV<=5%
	* CV>5% and<=10%
	** CV>10% and<=20%
	The median replaces the mean as the headline statistic. The weighted mean is the sum of the weighted values divided by the sum of the weights. The median is the value below which 50 per cent. of employees fall. It is preferred over the mean for earnings data as it is influenced less by extreme values and because of the skewed distribution of earnings data.
	Source:
	Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics.

Pensions

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department in the first full year of the change in personal pension planning outlined in the 2006 Budget.

Ivan Lewis: A Regulatory Impact Assessment (Regulatory Impact Assessment for Simplifying the taxation of pensions—Update") was published on 22 March 2006 setting out the Government's assessment of the impact of the changes to the new simplified regime for pensions taxation introduced in the 2006 Budget. This is available at www.hmrc.gov.uk/ria/ria-pensions-simplification.pdf.

Planning Gain Supplement

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will introduce the Planning Gain Supplement.

John Healey: As set out in the consultation document on Planning-Gain Supplement (PGS) published alongside the 2005 Pre-Budget report, PGS would not be introduced prior to 2008.
	Further announcements on PGS implementation will be made by the end of the year.

Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many requests the Office for National Statistics has received for information under the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations (PSI) 2005; and how many requests were refused (a) in whole and (b) in part.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 2 May 2006
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary Question concerning the number of requests the Office for National Statistics has received under the Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations (PSI) 2005; and how many requests were refused (a) in whole and (b) in part (66653)
	Information produced by ONS is protected by Crown copyright and can be re-used under the Click-Use Licence. This is an on-line licence that is administered by the Office of Public Sector Information. Under the Click-Use Licence a range of material across Government Departments can be re-used under one central licence. This avoids re-users having to apply to re-use ONS data specifically. There is no record of any request to re-use ONS data being refused.

Scottish Executive

Alex Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value is of monies being held by his Department on behalf of the Scottish Executive.

Des Browne: Details of the End Year Flexibility scheme are set out in the Public Expenditure Outturn White Paper 2005–06, (Cm. 6639). Table 6 of that publication details the End Year Flexibility entitlements for all departments.

Scottish Executive

Alex Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what restrictions are in place on the drawing down by the Scottish Executive of money held on its behalf by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: Details of the agreed draw-down of end year flexibility are set out in the relevant supplementary estimates and accompanying ministerial written statements.

Sparsely Populated Areas

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of households in Scotland and Wales in sparsely populated areas on the same definition as that already used for England; and if he willestimate the proportion in each case of households that (a) are second homes and (b) that have access to a car.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 2 May 2006
	As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking for an estimate of the number of households in Scotland and Wales in sparsely populated areas on the same definition as that already undertaken for England; and an estimate of the proportion in each case of households that a) are second homes and b) that have access to a car. (66546)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is not responsible for the collection of data for Scotland. All enquiries for Scottish 2001 Census data should be directed to the General Register Office for Scotland.
	Table A below shows the number household spaces within Wales that were recorded as either a second home or a holiday residence on Census day (29 April 2001). The data have been extracted from table KS16 on the CD accompaniment to the Census 2001 Key Statistics for the rural and urban area classification 2004, which is available on request from 2001 Census Customer Services [census.customerservices@ons.gsi.gov.uk].
	Table B below shows the number of households within Wales that had access to a car on Census day (29 April 2001). The data is an amalgamation of data extracted from table KS17 on the CD accompaniment to the Census 2001 Key Statistics for the rural and urban area classification 2004.
	
		Table A -- Wales
		
			  All household spaces 
			   With no residents 
			 Area With residents Vacant Second residence/holiday accommodation 
		
		
			 Wales 1,209,048 51,252 15,516 
			 Urban >10,000—Sparse 23,658 848 69 
			 Town and Fringe—Sparse 43,686 2,475 2,942 
			 Village—Sparse 64,063 3,344 4,663 
			 Hamlet and Isolated Dwelling—Sparse 48,871 2,512 2,976 
			 Urban >10,000—Less Sparse 754,490 30,399 1,878 
			 Town and Fringe—Less Sparse 155,231 6,647 940 
			 Village—Less Sparse 82,482 3,362 1,293 
			 Hamlet and Isolated Dwelling—Less Sparse 36,567 1,665 755 
		
	
	Source:
	Table KS16 in the Census 2001 Key Statistics for the rural and urban area classification 2004
	
		Table B -- Wales
		
			  All households 
			   Number of households (number of cars or vans) 
			 Area All households None One or more 
		
		
			 Wales 1,209,048 313,797 895,251 
			 Urban >10,000—Sparse 23,658 7,760 15,898 
			 Town and Fringe—Sparse 43,686 12,311 31,375 
			 Village—Sparse 64,063 10,351 53,712 
			 Hamlet and Isolated Dwelling—Sparse 48,871 4,287 44,584 
			 Urban >10,000—Less Sparse 754,490 221,915 532,575 
			 Town and Fringe—Less Sparse 155,231 40,663 114,568 
			 Village—Less Sparse 82,482 12,546 69,936 
			 Hamlet and Isolated Dwelling—Less Sparse 36,567 3,964 32,603 
		
	
	Source :
	Table KS17 in the Census 2001 Key Statistics for the rural and urban area classification 2004

Stamp Duty

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the revenue was from residential stamp duty from the (a) 3 per cent. and (b) 4 per cent. band in each year since its creation; and if he will estimate the revenue for 2006–07;
	(2)  how many occupiers of domestic properties paid residential stamp duty on sale at the (a) 3 per cent. and (b) 4 per cent. rate in each year since its creation; and if he will estimate the number of occupiers paying in 2006–07.

Ivan Lewis: Purchases of property worth more than £250,000 and up to £500,000 have borne stamp duty at 3 per cent., and those in excess of £500,000 4 per cent., since 2000–01. Estimated revenues from residential transactions fallingin those bands are available at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/stamp_duty/table15_3_october04.xls.
	Estimated revenues from stamp duty on residential transactions in 2005–06 will be published in September.
	Estimated numbers of transactions subject to these rates are given in the following table:
	
		Thousand
		
			 Consideration £250,001 to £500,000 Above £500,000 
			 Rate of stamp duty 3 per cent. 4 per cent. 
		
		
			 2000–01 68 13 
			 2001–02 96 17 
			 2002–03 120 23 
			 2003–04 135 26 
			 2004–05 181 30 
		
	
	Forecasts of stamp duty revenues and numbers of residential transactions in those bands are not available.

Statistics Project

Andrew Slaughter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times the Office for National Statistics met the local authorities participating in the Improving Migration and Population Statistics project; what the outcome was of those meetings; and when he expects the project to be completed.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 2 May 2006
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the participation of local authorities in the Improving Migration and Population Statistics (IMPS) project. (67408)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is currently working in partnership with four Local Authorities (LAs) to investigate whether there are local data sources that could be used to assist the compilation of the nationally produced population estimates. The four LAs are Barnet, Derby, Hammersmith & Fulham and Welwyn Hatfield. These authorities were selected from four groupings of LAs which each scored highly on different characteristics associated with difficulties in estimating population accurately.
	Initial meetings were held with the four selected LAs in December 2005 and January 2006. At these meetings each of the LAs agreed to work with ONS to gain a better understanding of how they use the population estimates, what other local information and data sources they use, what particular issues affect population estimates within their LA and what methods and local data sources they use to overcome these issues.
	A further round of meetings is currently under way to review progress and a final round of meetings will be held at the end of the studies in summer 2006. ONS will review the findings to see if any improvements can be applied to the mid-year population estimates processes or quality assurance procedures, either for all LAs or for groups of LAs. ONS will publish the outcome of the studies and evaluate their success, including a review of the criteria and approach for selecting LAs.
	ONS has been reporting progress to LAs more generally, and providing them with the opportunity to feed into the IMPS project, primarily through meetings of the Central and Local Government Information Partnership (CLIP).

Tax Credits

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps are taken to avoid causing hardship in the recovery of tax credit overpayments.

Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs' approach to handling overpayments, including the procedures in place where recovery might cause hardship, is set out in their Code of Practice 26 What happens if we have paid you too much tax credit?"

Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will withdraw the concessions under section 225 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992.

Dawn Primarolo: The whole tax system, including capital gains tax, is kept under review by the Government.

Trader Intra-community Fraud

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the levels of VAT missing trader intra-community fraud for each of the last five years for which data is available; and what steps he is taking to combat such fraud.

Dawn Primarolo: Estimates of the level of missing trader intra-community (MTIC) VAT fraud for the years 2000–01 to 2004–05 were published at PBR 2005 in Measuring Indirect Tax Losses—2005, a copy of which is available from the House of Commons Library. Estimates for 2005–06 will be published at PBR 2006.
	The Government remain determined to tackle MTIC VAT fraud, and the criminals perpetrating it, and a comprehensive strategy involving both operational and legislative measures has been developed. As announced at PBR 2005, this strategy has been strengthened further to counter changes in the fraud.
	The operational strategy is designed to identify, disrupt and prevent the fraud and involves targeting the key players involved. It includes:
	risk-based controls designed to identify and prevent bogus businesses from registering for VAT;
	a fast-track deregistration process for those who enter the VAT system and trade fraudulently;
	international co-operation, including sharing intelligence, investigating cases and developing strategic approaches;
	frontier activity, including the use of scanning technology to better identify goods involved in the fraud;
	a litigation strategy, including criminal prosecutions, designed to increase the risks for the fraudsters, and civil litigation designed to increase the financial risks for others who choose to be involved with the fraud; and
	refusing repayment claims where the business has knowledge of VAT fraud in the supply chain.
	Three legislative measures have also been introduced in the Finance Bill to further strengthen the tools available to HMRC to tackle the fraud:
	As announced on 26 January, the Government have applied to the European Commission for a derogation to introduce a different VAT accounting procedure (known as a reverse charge) for certain goods most commonly subject to MTIC fraud. An enabling provision in the Finance Bill will allow this to be implemented as soon as the approval is granted. This will significantly limit the scope for the fraud to be perpetrated in those goods.
	The second measure clarifies that the existing right of HMRC officers to inspect goods for VAT purposes includes the right to record the details of any goods inspected, and evidence of that inspection, by, for example, scanning the barcode.
	The third measure will allow HMRC to direct individual businesses to keep specified additional records where there is an identified risk of fraud. HMRC will apply these requirements in a closely targeted manner.

VAT

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the merits of levying a zero rate of VAT on new build houses and a 17.5 per cent. rate on repairs and conversions.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 11 July 2005, Official Report, column 700W. We continue to keep the impact of VAT on different types of building work under review.

Welsh Speakers

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in Wales speak Welsh, according to the latest census data.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the national statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 2 May 2006
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question concerning how many people in Wales speak Welsh according to the latest census data. I am replying in her absence. (66138)
	The table below shows that on Census day (29 April 2001) there were 582,368 people living in Wales who reported that they were able to speak Welsh. The figure has been extracted from Table T39 on the CD supplement to the Census 2001 National report for England and Wales, which is available in the House of Commons Library.
	
		Wales
		
			 All people aged three and over Number 
		
		
			 All people 2,805,701 
			 Speaks Welsh 582,368 
			 Does not speak Welsh 2,223,333 
		
	
	Source:
	Table T39 in the Census 2001 National report for England and Wales.

Unexpected Payments Worklist

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are on the unexpected payments worklist for credits; how many people in HM Revenue and Customs are working through this list; and how many people on this list have been taken to court.

Dawn Primarolo: As at 20 April 2006 there were around 34,000 items on the worklist but HMRC does not have information regarding the number of claimants involved. Several entries may relate to the same claimant.
	There are 10 members of staff working through the list.
	HMRC is not aware of any case where a court action has been taken against a claimant who appears on the list.

TRANSPORT

Rail Network (East London)

Meg Hillier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans the Government have for further spending on the rail network in Hackney and East London.

Derek Twigg: The funding of further rail enhancements across the country will be considered as part of the development of the High Level Output Specification for the railway to be published in summer 2007.
	A number of improvements to the rail network in Hackney and East London are already under way. This investment includes the current preparatory rail bridge building work for the East London Line extension to Dalston. The project will provide new stations for Hackney. Further investment is planned for improvements to the North London Line which have been confirmed by the Mayor when he takes control of the line in 2007. These include new, higher capacity, accessible trains replacing the existing fleet and a £25 million station enhancement programme of North London Line stations.

Rail Network (East London)

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the Treasury about the allocation of funding to complete both phases of the East London Line in time for the London Olympics.

Derek Twigg: The first phase of the East London Line extension is an Olympic undertaking. This commitment was given to the International Olympic Committee by the Mayor of London, taking into account the Spending Review 2004 financial settlement for TfL. The decision over whether to go ahead with the second phase of the East London Line extension is for the Mayor. Phase 1 of the extension is scheduled to be completed by June 2010, in time for the 2012 Olympics. Phase 2 is not an Olympic commitment and is not planned to be completed by 2012.

Motorways

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will meet the Highways Agency to discuss the installation of signs for Shrewsbury on the M6.

Stephen Ladyman: The Highways Agency has been negotiating with both Shropshire county council and Shrewsbury and Atcham borough council about signing for Shrewsbury on the M6. Both councils have now agreed in principle to the cost involved and a formal agreement is currently being prepared. This will result in Shrewsbury being signed on theM6.

Motorways

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to increase capacity at junction 21 of the M5.

Stephen Ladyman: The Highways Agency is working closely with North Somerset council (NSC) and developing a joint scheme to improve the operation of the junction by improvements on the local road approaches, together with upgrading the M5 southbound off-slip road.

Motorways

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to change Junction 5 of the M25 further to the proposed road-widening scheme.

Stephen Ladyman: The M25 Orbit Multi Modal Study recommended that consideration be given to the construction of additional slip roads between the M26 and A21. The Secretary of State accepted this recommendation and the Highways Agency is in the early stages of developing an appropriate scheme.

Railways

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the future of rural railway lines.

Derek Twigg: The Government recognise the importance of local railway lines to the communities that they serve and seeks to support their development, primarily through the implementation of the Community Rail Development Strategy.

Railways

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the franchises held by train operating companies; when each franchise was granted; what its length is; when each franchise is scheduled for renewal; and if he will list new franchises he is expecting to grant.

Derek Twigg: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries of the House. Franchise replacement projects are normally initiated two years prior to the franchise end date.

Railways

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the (a) supply of and (b) demand for dedicated railway engineers for the next (i) five, (ii) 10, (iii) 15 and (iv) 20 years; what action he is taking to ensure that there are sufficient numbers of competent dedicated railway engineers in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 25 April 2006
	It is the responsibility of the rail industry to predict and meet future needs for competent dedicated railway engineers. However, it became clear in the years following initial privatisation of the railway that the industry, and in particular Railtrack, was not fulfilling this need. Government have established the new industry framework within which both Network Rail and the Association of Train Operators now have active and successful programmes for recruitment, training and professional development of chartered and graduate engineers and engineering technicians. Of particular note is the apprenticeship scheme set up by Network Rail in partnership with the Royal Navy at HMS Sultan, Gosport, which has places for up to 250 per year.

Railways

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the cost of a standard return rail ticket purchased on the day of travel from London to each of the 20 largest cities in the UK has changed in real terms since 1997.

Derek Twigg: The Office of Rail Regulation compiles an index of fares which can be found at www.rail-reg.co.uk .

Airport Rail Links (Scotland)

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the First Minister of Scotland on the proposed rail links to Glasgow and Edinburgh airports.

Alistair Darling: I have regular discussions with the First Minister on a range of transport and other topics. The promotion and construction of new railways which start and end in Scotland is a devolved matter.

A1079

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on repairs to the A1079 road in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The A1079 was detrunked on 1 April 2003. Before this it was maintained by the Highways Agency. However, the agency accounts for maintenance on a management area as opposed to a specific route basis, and figures relating to the spend specifically on the A1079 are not readily available.
	Spending on maintenance on the A1079 since 1 April 2003 is a matter for the new highway authority, East Riding of Yorkshire. This information is not held centrally.

A1079

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents there have been on the A1079 in each of the last five years; how many resulted in serious injury; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The number of personal injury road accidents that occurred on the A1079 from 2000 to 2004 (the latest year for which figures are available) and the resulting serious casualties are given in the table.
	
		
			  Accidents Accidents resulting in at least one serious casualty 
		
		
			 2000 155 22 
			 2001 149 32 
			 2002 183 38 
			 2003 181 25 
			 2004 137 31

Airports

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many near misses were recorded involving flights (a) into and (b) out of each airport in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years, broken down by airline or carrier.

Derek Twigg: During the five years from 2001 to 2005 inclusive there were seven Airprox incidents over Northern Ireland airspace reported to the UK Airprox Board for assessment. In each case at least one of the aircraft involved was outbound from or inbound to an airport in Northern Ireland. All seven events were reviewed and categorised by the Board as being Category C where no risk of collision existed. At least one commercial air transport aircraft was involved but the Airprox Board does not make public the identity of the airline.
	The seven incidents can be broken down as follows:
	
		
			  Into Out of 
		
		
			 2001 1 0 
			 2002 1 1 
			 2003 0 0 
			 2004 1 0 
			 2005 1 2

Airports

Chris Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date and for what reasons the cap of 480,000 flights a year at Heathrow was agreed; and under what circumstances it might be removed.

Derek Twigg: The limit of 480,000 air transport movements a year at Heathrow is among the conditions imposed by the Secretary of State in his decision letter of 20 November 2001 granting planning consent to the development of a fifth terminal. As stated in the decision letter, the Secretary of State accepted the planning Inspector's recommendation for the limit on the basis of a precautionary approach, and in view of the Inspector's concerns about noise, particularly the weighting of the number of aircraft movements relative to the Leq noise index. The limit applies from the date that the core terminal building opens for public use, but BAA have stated their intention to manage traffic levels in the intervening period. The limit could only be changed following consideration of a further planning application which provided grounds for reaching a different view.

Biodiesel

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the future of biodiesel in the UK.

Stephen Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 24 April 2006, Official Report, columns 832–33W, to the hon. Member for Southend, West (Mr. Amess).

Blue Badge Scheme

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2006, Official Report, column 1883W, on the Blue Badge Scheme, 
	(1)  how many people displaying a valid Blue Badge have been prosecuted for parking where there is a ban on loading or unloading in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what recent representations he has received on whether to prosecute people displaying a valid Blue Badge for parking where there is a ban on loading or unloading; if he will bring forward legislation to allow people so parked to do so; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: Enforcement of the Blue Badge Scheme is a matter for local authorities. There is no legal requirement for local authorities to provide the Department with details of any parking prosecutions. The devolved administrations are responsible for the Scheme in other parts of the UK.
	The Department has received representations from some local authorities about the legality of parking by blue badge holders in loading bays. The Department's policy is that under the Blue Badge Scheme, badge holders should not automatically be permitted to park in loading bays during a ban on loading and unloading. To ensure that this is clearly reflected in the regulations the Department proposes to bring forward amendments, where necessary, during the course of the year.

British Transport Police

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State forTransport how many British Transport Police officers there have been in each region in each year since 1997.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 26 April 2006
	The British Transport Police have provided the following information on officers employed by the BTP in each of its areas since 1997–98. 
	
		
			  Number of police officers 
			  1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 
		
		
			 FHQ 111 113 113 110 121 
			 London North 319 312 297 310 307 
			 London South 293 282 288 300 301 
			 London Underground 401 416 402 405 452 
			 North Eastern Area 195 205 197 192 188 
			 North Western Area 280 275 268 270 256 
			 Scotland Area 197 200 199 202 203 
			 Wales and Western Area 299 303 309 320 295 
			 Secondments — — — — — 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of police officers 
			  2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 
		
		
			 FHQ 139 149 182 255 
			 London North 311 289 339 406 
			 London South 324 310 324 353 
			 London Underground 476 567 681 744 
			 North Eastern Area 193 197 205 207 
			 North Western Area 263 256 255 271 
			 Scotland Area 205 207 211 225 
			 Wales and Western Area 295 281 288 309 
			 Secondments — 24 9 4

Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what forecasts his Department has made of the carbon dioxide emissions from each of the UK's (a) designated and (b) non-designated airports for each year for which assessments have been made.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 27 April 2006
	The Department has not produced carbon dioxide forecasts on an airport by airport basis. The Government believes that the best way of ensuring that aviation contributes towards the goal of climate stabilisation is through a well-designed emissions trading regime.

Crossrail

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the status of Crossrail Line 2.

Derek Twigg: Responsibility for taking forward proposals on the Chelsea-Hackney line now rests with the Mayor of London.

Departmental Leave (Stress)

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people have been on sick leave suffering from stress in his Department in each of the last three years; and what percentage of the total staff number this represents.

Derek Twigg: The number of people that have been on sick leave suffering from stress 1 and the percentage of the total staff this represents for each of the last three years is:
	1 Stress absence can also include anxiety, nervous debility, neurosis, emotional upset.
	
		
			  Total number of staff absent Percentage of total staff 
		
		
			 2003 991 6.4 
			 2004 831 5 
			 2005 631 3.7 
		
	
	It should be noted that the reduction in figures in 2005 has been influenced in part by the incomplete data supplied by DVLA. The 2005 figures for DVLA are for January to June only due to a change in their HR system. DVLA figures for the remainder of 2005 will be available at a later date.

First Great Western

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with First Great Western on redoubling the track between Kemble and Swindon.

Derek Twigg: The Department has not had any discussions with First Great Western on this. This would be for Network Rail to take forward and I have therefore asked them to write directly to my hon. Friend.

Grievance Procedures

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many grievance procedures have been initiated in his Department in each of the last three years.

Derek Twigg: The number of grievance procedures initiated in the Department for Transport in each of the last three years is as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2003 14 
			 2004 26 
			 2005 50 
		
	
	Highways Agency are not included in the figures as they do not collect this information centrally, but are doing so from 1 April 2006.
	There are several reasons for an increase in cases over the three years, including:
	staff have a greater awareness of the procedures available to them;
	managers are encouraged to be proactive and deal with issues as they occur;
	more accurate recording of cases.

Infrastructure Projects

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State forTransport what assessment he has made of the potential for (a) cost and (b) time savings through reform of planning processes and public inquiries for major infrastructure projects; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The Department has considered, with other relevant Departments, the scope for improving the effectiveness of the planning system in handling proposals for major infrastructure schemes. Rod Eddington, who has been appointed by the Department for Transport and Her Majesty's Treasury to advise on the long-term impact of transport decisions on the UK's productivity, stability and growth, is also now considering this as part of his study. The Department has not sought to estimate specific cost or time savings which might result from changes to the planning system.

Purple Airspace

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the flights other than those used by members of the royal family which were granted Purple airspace in each year since 1997.

Derek Twigg: The configuration and promulgation of Purple Airspace" ceased in 2001 in response to the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2005. Royal and selected VIP flights are now contained within the UK's existing controlled airspace structure and, as necessary, within time-limited temporary controlled airspace outside the permanent route structure.
	Such flights include those by members of other royal families, other reigning sovereigns, prime ministers, heads of state of commonwealth and foreign countries, and UK Members of Parliament requiring expeditious handling. The above measures are implemented by means of a Notice To Airmen (NOTAM). As NOTAM is also used to implement a number of other air traffic control procedures, and records kept are not subject specific, it is not possible to provide the hon. Member with a definitive number of royal and VIP flights that have flown within existing and temporary controlled airspace.

Road Accidents (Essex)

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people were (a) killed and (b) injured in road accidents in Essex, excluding Southend and Thurrock, in each year between 1995 and 2004.

Stephen Ladyman: The number of people killed and injured in each county and unitary authority in Great Britain are published annually in the report Road Casualties Great Britain".
	The numbers of people killed and injured in personal injury road accidents in Essex (excluding the unitary authorities of Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock) each year between 1995 and 2004 (the latest for which figures are available) are given in the following table.
	
		Number of people killed and injured in Essex (excluding UA's): 1995–2004
		
			  Killed Serious and slightly injured 
		
		
			 1995 74 7,298 
			 1996 82 7,206 
			 1997 77 7,322 
			 1998 73 7,187 
			 1999 94 7,259 
			 2000 75 7,533 
			 2001 100 7,180 
			 2002 75 6,716 
			 2003 89 6,600 
			 2004 93 6,515

Royal Travel

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 18 April 2006, Official Report, columns 59–60W, on royal travel, why environmental impact is not one of the given criteria for determining the mode of travel; and if he will change the criteria to include environmental impacts.

Derek Twigg: The criteria which were established in 1997 were based on previous guidelines on royal and ministerial travel. However, as part of a current review of the Financial Memorandum governing the grant-in-aid with the Royal Household, the criteria for official royal travel will be re-examined to consider the need for any change.

Transport Improvements (Coventry)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what transport improvements for which his Department is responsible there have been in Coventry, South in the past 12 months; what further improvements are planned; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The following schemes were carried out in the last 12 months:
	The Highways Agency have carried out a number of maintenance enhancement works on the A45 and A46 trunk roads including reconstruction of the A45 between Ryton-on-Dunsmore and the Tollbar End junction (£1.2 million); a junction improvement at A45/A445 at Ryton-on-Dunsmore (£4.5 million); and erection of noise barriers on the A46 south of interchange with A45 at Stivichall (£0.27 million).
	In March 2005 Network Rail replaced two level crossings; with a road bridge at Tile Hill, and a pedestrian footbridge at Canley.
	Under the West Midlands Local Transport Plan settlement for 2005–06, almost £70 million was allocated to the West Midlands metropolitan local authorities (of which £6.56 million was for Coventry) for transport measures (under £5 million) and road maintenance.
	In addition, the following schemes are planned:
	A £57 million upgrade of A45/A46 Tollbar End roundabout to provide a grade separated interchange is proposed for 2009–10.
	The £31 million LTP-funded Coventry Quality Bus Network scheme will substantially improve bus service provision in four key corridors and will enhance access to some of the most disadvantaged communities. Full approval was given in December 2004 and is due to be completed in 2008.
	Network Rail are undertaking resignalling and providing twin-tracking in August/September 2006 on the Leamington to Nuneaton line to the south of Coventry Station.

Utility Companies

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will be in a position to introduce the proposed permit scheme for utility companies laying pipelines and cables in roads.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department is working to ensure that the regulations are produced as soon as possible.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Addictions

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people are estimated to have (a) a gambling addiction, (b) an alcohol addiction and (c) a drug addiction in (i) Northern Ireland and (ii) each council area in each of the last five years.

Shaun Woodward: Information on the number of people estimated to have a gambling addiction is not available.
	Information regarding alcohol addiction is not available as requested. The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) carried out the first ever census of Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services on 1 March 2005. Using the data collected, we are able to provide the following information on persons in treatment for alcohol misuse. It is important to note that alcohol misuse does not constitute addiction.
	
		
			  Health and Social Services Board Persons in treatment for alcohol only misuse Persons in treatment for both drugs and alcohol misuse 
		
		
			 Eastern 1,002 340 
			 Northern 706 145 
			 Southern 624 147 
			 Western 476 215 
			 Prisons 42 108 
			 Hospitals 224 5 
			 Northern Ireland 3,074 960 
		
	
	Information regarding drug addiction is not available by district council as requested. The Northern Ireland Addicts Index Database holds information on all those persons registered in concurrence with the Misuse of Drugs (Notification of and Supply to Addicts) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 1973. Using the data held we are able to provide the following information on persons who were registered on the index. The information is provided at both HSS Board and Trust level.
	
		
			 HSS Board 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 Eastern HSSB 108 106 86 105 97 
			 Northern HSSB 147 133 104 115 102 
			 Southern HSSB 17 19 23 14 15 
			 Western HSSB 30 38 26 21 20 
			 Northern Ireland 302 296 239 (37)259 (38)239 
		
	
	(37) This figure includes four individuals for whom Health and Social Services Trust could not be established.
	(38) This figure includes five individuals for whom Health and Social Services Trust could not be established.
	
		
			 HSS Trust 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 Armagh and Dungannon 11 15 12 9 11 
			 Causeway 9 9 12 10 7 
			 Craigavon and Banbridge 3 2 4 2 2 
			 Down Lisburn 12 13 10 10 10 
			 Foyle Community 15 21 19 16 12 
			 Homefirst Community 138 124 92 105 95 
			 Newry and Mourne 3 2 7 3 2 
			 North and West Belfast 45 42 21 21 16 
			 South and East Belfast 29 32 43 63 62 
			 Sperrin Lakeland 15 17 7 5 8 
			 Ulster Community 22 19 12 11 9 
			 Northern Ireland 302 296 239 (39)259 (40)239 
		
	
	(39) This figure includes four individuals for whom Health and Social Services Trust could not be established.
	(40) This figure includes five individuals for whom Health and Social Services Trust could not be established.

Alzheimer's Disease

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State forNorthern Ireland how many people with Alzheimer's disease in Northern Ireland were prescribed anticholinisterase drugs in each of the last five years.

Shaun Woodward: Information is not available on drugsprescribed to people with Alzheimer's disease. However, information is available on the number of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors prescription items dispensed in primary care from 2001 to 2005 (see Table 1 below). Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors are commonly used to treat the dementia of Alzheimer's disease. Information is not available on the actual number of individuals that this relates to.
	
		Table 1
		
			  Number of Acetylcholinesterase inhibitor prescription items dispensed 
		
		
			 2001 15,087 
			 2002 19,605 
			 2003 25,986 
			 2004 33,056 
			 2005 38,245 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures include data for donepezil hydrochloride, galantamine, memantine hydrochloride and rivastigmine.
	Source:
	Central Services Agency

Anti-bullying Strategy

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what funds are available for the implementation of the anti-bullying strategy in Northern Ireland;
	(2)  how the anti-bullying strategy is to be implemented in schools in Northern Ireland;
	(3)  what the Department of Education's anti-bullying strategy is.

Angela Smith: The Department of Education actively promotes and funds anti-bullying initiatives through its anti-bullying programme. The current programme comprises funding for a dedicated bullying advice helpline, operated by ChildLine; a further study into the extent and nature of bullying in schools in Northern Ireland as a follow up to the research published in 2002; and a survey of pastoral care in schools to ensure compliance with the requirements to have measures in place to tackle bullying.
	The Department is a member of the local Anti-bullying Forum. The Forum, which draws its members from the statutory and voluntary sectors, was launched in November 2005, with the aim of sharing models of best practice, disseminating information, developing and co-coordinating joint initiatives. This will ensure that schools and organisations working with children and young people are able to have appropriate strategies to prevent and deal with bullying behaviours. The Forum has developed a three-year anti-bullying strategy with the Department of Education funding its administrative structure. The main elements of the Forum's strategic plan includes developing, implementing and promoting of models of good practice, developing parental partnerships, website development and organising annual bullying week.
	In 2005–06 the Department of Education has contributed approximately £55,000 to the development of anti-bullying initiatives. In 2006–07 the Department has agreed to fund £66,000 to the local Forum to implement its anti-bullying strategy and providing the terms and conditions of grant are met, the Department has agreed in principle to fund in 2007–08 and 2008–09. Across the education and library boards at least £200,000 per annum is allocated to specific anti-bullying activity. The Department does not have information about the resources that schools devote to anti-bullying initiatives from their own budgets.

Anti-racism Funding

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the effects of the funding awarded to each of the 13 organisations in February 2005 to tackle racism.

Angela Smith: In February 2005 £100,000 was made available specifically to assist local communities build positive relationships with minority ethnic people, thereby helping to tackle hate crime in a number of geographical areas. 33 organisations applied and 13 received funding. These projects were subject to continual monitoring to ensure that they fulfilled the aims and objectives set out in the original applications.
	This investment, in the Government's view, represents good value for money. It has enabled those organisations to undertake a range of activities and develop programmes to help minority ethnic and migrant groups integrate into society. The programmes also addressed the problem of racism. For example, over 100 people attended workshops across Northern Ireland to share experiences and develop action plans to tackle racism; a CD ROM is being produced to promote the integration of minority ethnic people into the local communities; over 75 people, in the Greater Belfast area, representing five community groups, received anti-racism and diversity training; over 200 young people from local schools in the mid-Ulster area attended a Chinese cultural awareness and martial arts event; 90 people from North and East Belfast attended cultural celebration events; and 75 children from the mid-Down area attended a six week summer camp designed to tackle issues such as conflict resolution.

Biotinidase Deficiency

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for what reasons the Newborn Screening programme does not include screening for Biotinidase deficiency.

Shaun Woodward: The National Screening Committee (NSC) has recommended that Biotinidase Deficiency should not be included as part of Newborn Screening. This advice was based on two Health Technology Assessment reports which reviewed the current research evidence. The NSC has also assessed Biotinidase Deficiency against its assessment criteria for new screening programmes.

Biotinidase Deficiency

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will estimate the cost of including Biotinidase deficiency screening for new born babies in the Newborn Screening Programme in Northern Ireland.

Shaun Woodward: The NSC has recommended that Biotinidase Deficiency should not be included in Newborn Screening. Consequently the cost of including Biotinidase Deficiency screening in Northern Ireland has not been considered.

Biotinidase Deficiency

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent estimate he has made of the cost of (a) treating and (b) educating a child with Biotinidase deficiency until (i) 16 and (ii) 18 years old in Northern Ireland.

Shaun Woodward: Biotinidase deficiency is a rare condition. With approximately 12 cases per year across the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland's proportional share, based on number of births, would be one case every three years. Given the small numbers affected, the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety does not record the specific costs of treating a child with this condition.
	Specific medical conditions such as biotinidase deficiency are not recorded by education and library boards (ELBs) as part of the school census process. Only one of the ELBs is aware of children in their area with biotinidase deficiency. Regardless of specific medical conditions and their severity, special educational needs provision is matched to the individual needs of pupils. As this provision may be made in a special school, a special unit of a mainstream class, the associated cost cannot be provided for individual pupils.

Blue Badges

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Blue Badges for disabled people were issued in Northern Ireland in 2005.

Shaun Woodward: The chief executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question.
	Letter from Dr. Malcolm McKibbin
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question about how many Blue Badges for disabled persons were issued in Northern Ireland in 2005. I have been asked to reply as the issue raised falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service.
	I can advise that 29,493 Blue Badges were issued to individuals in 2005. In addition 248 badges were issued to 69 organisations that care for people with a disability.

Capita Group

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much business his Department has placed with (a) Capita Group plc and (b) its subsidiaries in each of the last five years; what the total value is of outstanding contracts placed with Capita Group plc and its subsidiaries by his Department; for which current tenders issued by his Department (i) Capita Group plc and (ii) its subsidiaries have been invited to bid; and whether (A) Capita Group plc and (B) its subsidiaries have seconded staff (1) temporarily and (2) on a longer-term basis to (X) his Department and (Y) its agencies.

Angela Smith: There were no contracts awarded by Northern Ireland Departments to Capita plc over the last five financial years.
	The number of contracts awarded to subsidiaries of Capita plc is 49. Details of the amounts tendered and on which contracts were awarded in each of the last five years are set out in the table. Information relating to the number of tenders submitted or number of invitations to submit tenders cannot be provided due to the disproportionate cost of doing so.
	There have been no occasions where staff from Capita plc or its subsidiaries have been seconded by Northern Ireland Departments or their agencies.
	The total value of outstanding contracts is nil.
	
		
			   £ 
		
		
			 2001–02 
			 DETI Chief Executive for New Development Agency Capita Business Services Ltd. 18,000 
			 DHSSPS Workforce Data Audit Capita Man Consultants 17,762 
			 DHSSPS Consultancy Support for the Community Capita Business Services Ltd. 13,500 
			 DEL LRA Review of Labour Relations Agency Capita Business Services Ltd. 18,769 
			 DE Initial Scoping Study into the Options for Replacement of the Teachers' Pay / Pension Computer Sys. Capita Man Consultants 29,900 
			 DEL Review of Compacts for EGSA and WEA Capita Business Services Ltd. 13,160 
			 DFP RCA Consultancy for Facilities Management Capita Business Services Ltd. 49,000 
			 Review of State Pathologists Department Capita Group Plc 20,089 
			 2002–03   
			 DFP CPG Evaluation of Graduate Recruitment Capita Business Services Ltd. 17,250 
			 DFP CPG PCSPS (NI) Administration Capita Business Services Ltd. 59,992 
			 DCAL MAGNI: Appointment of Consultants Capita Business Services Ltd. 25,115 
			 DHSSPS Review of Physical Activity Strategy Capita Business Services Ltd. 19,050 
			 DE Payroll and Pension System Capita Business Services Ltd. 29,720 
			 DHSSPS Review of Community Dental Service Capita Business Services Ltd. 30,712 
			 DHSSPS HSS Evaluation of Services to Victims Capita Business Services Ltd. 33,581 
			 DHSSPS Options Study for Superannuation's Computer System Capita Business Services Ltd. 24,100 
			 DHSSPS Needs Assessment of Young People's Treatment Services Capita Business Services Ltd. 36,975 
			 Review of Allowances Paid to Pathologists Capita Group Plc 5,700 
			 Development of a Consultation Document for the States Pathologists Department Capita Group Plc 2,820 
			
			 2003–04   
			 OFMDFM New Research For Victims Strategy Capita Business Services Ltd. 32,263 
			 DHSSPS Audit of Training Needs in Treatment and Education Sectors Capita Business Services Ltd. 29,700 
			 DHSSPS Public Consultation Survey to inform the Development of the DHSSPS website Capita Business Services Ltd. 14,480 
			 DHSSPS Review of Public Health Functions in NI Capita Business Services Ltd. 39,916 
			 DFP RCA/VLA End to End Process Review Capita Business Services Ltd. 27,400 
			 DFP RCA/VLA Customer Requirements Projects Capita Business Services Ltd. 20,878 
			 DFP District Registration Offices Staffing Review Capita Business Services Ltd. 29,160 
			 DHSSPS Review of Workforce Planning for Professions Complementary to Dentistry Capita Business Services Ltd. 17,687 
			 DHSSPS Review of Workforce Planning for Ambulance Services Staff Capita Business Services Ltd. 17,312 
			 DHSSPS Audit and Survey Management Practices Records for HPSS Bodies Capita Business Services Ltd. 71,846 
			 DHSSPS Evaluation of LHSCG's Capita Business Services Ltd. 20,000 
			 DHSSPS Research on Private Fostering Capita Business Services Ltd. 48,160 
			 DSD DMU Customer Research Programme 2003 Capita Business Services Ltd. 18,012 
			 DOE EHS Review of W5 Capita Business Services Ltd. 28,965 
			 DSD Development of External Communications Strategy Capita Business Services Ltd. 9,000 
			 DFP Review of NICS Welfare Service Capita Business Services Ltd. 39,440 
			 DHSSPS Sure-Start Evaluation 2003–04 Capita Business Services Ltd. 47,034 
			 DHSSPS Assessment of Hospital Pharmacy Aseptic Services Capita Business Services Ltd. 23,501 
			 DHSSPS Review of Health Action Zones Capita Business Services Ltd. 29,862 
			 Options Appraisal for a Centralised Mortuary Facility Capita Group Plc 25,754 
			 Recruitment of a Criminal Justice Inspector Capita Group Plc 18,688 
			
			 2004–05   
			 DFP Review of Rating Policy Reform of Non-Dom Rating System Implementation of Hardship Relief Scheme Capita Business Services Ltd. 28,549 
			 DHSSPS Review of NIGALA Capita Business Services Ltd. 38,700 
			 DOE EHS Review of NH Support to NGO Capita Business Services Ltd. 27,800 
			 DFP CPD Business Case to support the Supplier Registration System Capita Business Services Ltd. 15,146 
			 DHSSPS Review of Children First Capita Business Services Ltd. 34,528 
			 DHSSPS Facilitation Support for Fit Futures Intersectoral Stakeholders Event Capita Business Services Ltd. 5,000 
			 DHSSPS Gene Therapy Services within HPSS in NI Capita Business Services Ltd. 23,917 
			 Recruitment of an Assistant Criminal Justice Inspector Capita Group Plc 14,743 
			
			 2005–06   
			 Medical Advisory Service (Health Solutions formally BMI Health) Capita Group Plc 1,565

Capita Group

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the value of contracts held by his Department with (a) Capita plc and (b) its subsidiaries was in the last three financial years.

Angela Smith: There were no contracts held by Northern Ireland Departments with Capita plc during the last three years.
	Details of the amounts tendered by subsidiaries of Capita plc and on which contracts were awarded by Northern Ireland Departments during the last three financial years are set out in the table.
	
		
			 Contract name Supplier Value 
		
		
			 2003–04  £000 
			 OFMDFM New Research For Victims Strategy Capita Business Services Ltd 32,263 
			 DHSSPS Audit of Training Needs in Treatment and Education Sectors Capita Business Services Ltd 29,700 
			 DHSSPS Public Consultation Survey to inform the Development of the DHSSPS Web-Site Capita Business Services Ltd 14,480 
			 DHSSPS Review of Public Health Functions in NI Capita Business Services Ltd 39,916 
			 DFP RCA/VLA Customer Requirements Projects Capita Business Services Ltd 20,878 
			 DFP RCA/VLA End To End Process Review Capita Business Services Ltd 27,400 
			 DFP District Registration Offices Staffing Review Capita Business Services Ltd 29,160 
			 DHSSPS Review of Workforce Planning for Professions Complementary to Dentistry Capita Business Services Ltd 17,687 
			 DHSSPS Review of Workforce Planning for Ambulance Services Staff Capita Business Services Ltd 17,312 
			 DHSSPS Audit and Survey Management Practices Records for HPSS Bodies Capita Business Services Ltd 71,846 
			 DHSSPS Evaluation of LHSCG's Capita Business Services Ltd 20,000 
			 DHSSPS Research on Private Fostering Capita Business Services Ltd 48,160 
			 DSD DMU Customer Research Programme 2003 Capita Business Services Ltd 18,012 
			 DOE EHS Review of W5 Capita Business Services Ltd 28,965 
			 DSD Development of External Communications Strategy Capita Business Services Ltd 9,000 
			 DFP Review of NICS Welfare Service Capita Business Services Ltd 39,440 
			 DHSSPS Sure-Start Evaluation 2003–04 Capita Business Services Ltd 47,034 
			 DHSSPS Assessment of Hospital Pharmacy Aseptic Services Capita Business Services Ltd 23,501 
			 DHSSPS Review of Health Action Zones Capita Business Services Ltd 29,862 
			 Recruitment of a Criminal Justice Inspector Capita Group Plc 18,688 
			 NIO Options Appraisal for a Centralised Mortuary Facility Capita Group Plc 25,754 
			
			 2004–05   
			 DFP Review of Rating Policy Reform of Non-Dom Rating System Implementation of Hardship Relief Scheme Capita Business Services Ltd 28,549 
			 DHSSPS Review of NIGALA Capita Business Services Ltd 38,700 
			 DOE EHS Review of NH Support to NGO Capita Business Services Ltd 27,800 
			 DFP CPD Business Case to support the Supplier Registration System Capita Business Services Ltd 15,146 
			 DHSSPS Review of Children First Capita Business Services Ltd 34,528 
			 DHSSPS Facilitation Support for Fit Futures Intersectoral Stakeholder Event Capita Business Services Ltd 5,000 
			 DHSSPS Gene Therapy Services within HPSS in NI Capita Business Services Ltd 23,917 
			 Recruitment of an Assistant Criminal Justice Inspector Capita Group Plc 14,743 
			
			 2005–2006   
			 Medical Advisory Service (Health Solutions formally BMI Health) Capita Group Plc 1,565

Capita Group

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many tenders (a) Capita plc and (b) its subsidiaries has submitted to his Department in each of the last three years; and how many tenders were successful.

Angela Smith: I am unable to advise how many tenders Capita plc and its subsidiaries has submitted in each of the last three years as to do so would be at disproportionate cost.
	I am, however, able to advise that the following number of tenders were successful in each of the last three years. None was awarded to Capita plc, all were awarded to its subsidiaries. They are as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2003–04 21 
			 2004–05 8 
			 2005–06 1

Capita Group

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many contracts his Department holds with (a) Capita plc and (b) its subsidiaries which still have a potential duration of five years or more.

Angela Smith: There are no contracts that still have a potential duration of five years or more with either Capita plc or its subsidiaries.

Children's Commissioner

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken to conduct an open recruitment competition to fill the vacancy for the Children's Commissioner for Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: We intend to follow a very similar process to the 2003 appointment process for the first Commissioner for Children and Young People for Northern Ireland, which was widely regarded as very successful. We will commence the public appointment process in May and hold interviews in late June.

Dental Services

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the change in the condition of children's teeth and general dental care over the past five years in Northern Ireland.

Shaun Woodward: The information is not available in the form requested. Monitoring of the dental health of children is undertaken as part of the Children's Dental Health Survey which takes place every 10 years. The last survey was undertaken in 2003. The following below outline the change in dental decay levels in five, 12 and 15-year-old children in Northern Ireland over the ten year period 1993 to 2003.
	
		The proportion of Northern Ireland children who have experienced dental decay: The 1993 and 2003 surveys compared
		
			 Percentage 
			 Age group 1993 2003(41) 
		
		
			 Five-year-olds 60 61 
			 12-year-olds 76 66 
			 15-year-olds 85 74 
		
	
	(41) Decay figures calculated using 1993 criteria
	Source:
	UK Children's Oral Health Survey 1993 and 2003.
	
		The average number of teeth per child in Northern Ireland affected by dental decay: The 1993 and 2003 surveys compared
		
			 Age group 1993 2003(42) 
		
		
			 Five-year-olds 2.3 2.5 
			 12-year-olds 3.0 2.5 
			 15-year-olds 5.3 3.8 
		
	
	(42) Decay figures calculated using 1993 criteria
	Source:
	UK Children's Oral Health Survey 1993 and 2003.
	In terms of general dental care, we have introduced several measures in 2005 to improve the dental health of children, specifically a targeted preventive fissure sealant scheme and an evidence-based caries reduction programme.

Departmental Leave (Stress)

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in each Department and Government Agency in Northern Ireland have been on long-term sick leave in each of the last three years (a) in total and (b) broken down by grade; and how many of these cases related to stress.

Angela Smith: Sick absence statistics for the 11 Departments of the Northern Ireland administration and the Northern Ireland Office are analysed by financial year. Tables detailing the information sought for the period 2002–03 to 2004–05 have been placed in the Library. The analysis of sickness absence in Northern Ireland Departments for 2005–06 is currently being finalised and should be available in the autumn of 2006.

Depression (Drug Prescriptions)

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the change was in the estimated annual numbers of drugs prescribed to people in Northern Ireland suffering from depression between 1995 and 2005.

Shaun Woodward: The information is not available in exactly the form requested. However we can provide information on anti-depressant prescription items dispensed in the community from 2000 to 2005.
	
		Table 1: Change in anti-depressant prescription items dispensed
		
			  Anti-depressant prescription items Percentage change 
		
		
			 2000 1,021,852 — 
			 2001 1,096,255 7.28 
			 2002 1,200,540 9.51 
			 2003 1,276,880 6.36 
			 2004 1,336,782 4.69 
			 2005 1,356,284 1.46 
		
	
	Source:
	Prescription Cost Analysis, Central Services Agency
	
		Table 2: Change in anti-depressant prescription items dispensed as a percentage of total items dispensed
		
			  Total number of prescription items Number of anti-depressant prescription items Anti-depressants as percentage of total prescription items Change in percentage 
		
		
			 2000 23,385,701 1,021,852 4.37 — 
			 2001 24,302,910 1,096,255 4.51 0.14 
			 2002 25,766,854 1,200,540 4.66 0.15 
			 2003 26,493,398 1,276,880 4.82 0.16 
			 2004 27,365,465 1,336,782 4.88 0.07 
			 2005 27,981,857 1,356,284 4.85 -0.04 
		
	
	Source:
	Prescription Cost Analysis, Central Services Agency
	
		Table 3: Change in anti-depressant prescription items dispensed per head of population
		
			  Mid-year estimate of population Anti-depressant prescription items per head of population Percentage change 
		
		
			 2000 1,682,944 0.61 — 
			 2001 1,689,319 0.65 6.88 
			 2002 1,696,641 0.71 9.04 
			 2003 1,702,628 0.75 5.98 
			 2004 1,710,322 0.78 4.22 
		
	
	Note:
	The 2005 mid-year estimate of population is not yet available.
	Source:
	Prescription Cost Analysis, Central Services Agency and Mid-year estimate of population, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency

Development Funding for Minority Ethnic Communities

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many groups in Northern Ireland have made successful applications for funding under the development fund for minority ethnic communities announced in February 2005; and what total amount was paid out in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months.

Angela Smith: There were 75 applications for assistance to the development fund for minority ethnic communities, announced in February 2005. 15 organisations were successful in obtaining core funding and four were awarded time-bound project funding. A total amount of £0.6 million was paid to these projects over the last 12 months.

Dogs

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many dangerous dogs have been destroyed in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: The number of dangerous dogs destroyed in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years from 2001 to 2005 (inclusive) is detailed in the following table. Dogs designated as dangerous dogs, under the Dogs (Northern Ireland) Order 1983, as amended by the Dangerous Dogs (Northern Ireland) Order 1991, are pit bull terrier, Japanese tosa, Dogo Argentino and the Fila Braziliero. All of the dogs destroyed in Northern Ireland over the last five years were of the pit bull terrier type.
	
		Dangerous dogs destroyed in Northern Ireland
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2001 0 
			 2002 4 
			 2003 2 
			 2004 2 
			 2005 2

Fountain Primary School

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to assist Fountain primary school in Londonderry with its transportation costs.

Angela Smith: The Western Education and Library Board changed its transport policy in September 2005 to restrict home to school transport assistance to eligible pupils. As a result it withdrew concessionary transport for pupils travelling to a number of schools including Fountain primary school.
	Derry city council is considering the provision of short term funding of around £3,000 towards transport costs to cover the period April-June 2006 and this will be discussed at the Councils Development Committee meeting on 11 May.
	I met with the hon. Member for Foyle (Mark Durkan) and a delegation from Fountain primary school on 5 April 2006 where it was accepted that the Western Board could no longer fund the transport costs for pupils at Fountain primary school. I have, however, agreed to liaise with my hon. Friend, the Member for Delyn (Mr. Hanson) Minister of State for Northern Ireland, to discuss the feasibility of a longer-term solution to the transport problem. Officials from DE and DSD will be meeting shortly to take this issue forward as a matter of urgency.

Educational Attainment

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of (a) Catholics and (b) Protestants left school without any educational qualifications in the last year for which figures are available.

Angela Smith: In 2003–04, 5.7 per cent. of Catholic school leavers and 3.9 per cent. of Protestant school leavers had no formal qualifications.

Community Differentials

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what evidence the Government base their view that there is disproportionate poverty and disadvantage among the Catholic community.

Angela Smith: Evidence from the most recent Households Below Average Income" report for Northern Ireland and the Poverty and Social Exclusion Survey of Northern Ireland both indicate rates of poverty in Catholic households to be higher than for Protestant households. Both publications have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

NHS Employment Statistics

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were employed (a) full-time and (b) part-time by the NHS in Northern Ireland in January (i) 2001 and (ii) 2006.

Shaun Woodward: Figures for the number of staff employed within the NI HPSS are not available as at January. The information requested is available as at 31 March for 2001 and 2006 and is presented in the following table.
	
		Staff employed within the NI HPSS by employment status as at 31 March 2001 and 2006
		
			  Full-time Part-time Total 
			 Date Headcount Headcount WTE(43) Headcount WTE(43) 
		
		
			 March 2001 29810 18533 11716.81 48343 41526.81 
			 March 2006 35973 22688 14445.97 58661 50418.97 
		
	
	(43) WTE = Whole-time equivalent.
	Note:
	Figures exclude bank staff and home helps. Bank staff maintain service delivery by covering staffing shortfalls and fluctuating work loads and as a result their input to the service is difficult to measure. Home help staff predominately work as and when required, therefore not all home help staff are recorded on the personnel systems from which the data is taken.
	Source:
	Human Resource Management System.

NHS Employment Statistics

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were employed in administration positions by the NHS in Northern Ireland in January (a) 2001 and (b) 2006.

Shaun Woodward: Figures for the number of administration staff employed within the NI HPSS are not available as at January. The information requested is available as at 31 March for 2001 and 2006 and is presented in the following table.
	
		Administration staff employed within the NI HPSS as at 31 March 2001 and 2006
		
			 Date Headcount Whole-time equivalent 
		
		
			 March 2001 10504 9298.74 
			 March 2006 13234 11562.12 
		
	
	Source:
	Human Resource Management System.

Emergency Services

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average starting salary was for newly recruited personnel in the (a) police, (b) fire and (c) ambulance services in Northern Ireland on 1 January.

Shaun Woodward: Student Police Service of Northern Ireland officers start on a salary of £20,397 rising to £22,770 on successful completion of initial training.
	Trainee whole-time Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service firefighters start on a salary of £19,394 rising to £20,202 on completion of training and £25,850 when competent. Retained firefighters receive a quarterly retaining fee of £362.44 or £483.21 for 12 or 24 hour availability respectively. Initially, they receive £17.72 for two hours training per week and, once trained, receive a £12.61 turnout fee per call.
	The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) recruits staff initially to its Patient Care (non-emergency) Service tier starting on a salary of £14,462. In time, staff can progress to the trainee Emergency Medical Technician grade starting at £15,908 and then to the Paramedic grade starting at £19,885.

Informants

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are taken to protect informants and their families in Northern Ireland.

Shaun Woodward: It is Government policy never to comment on specific national security and intelligence matters.

Independent Treatment Centres

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many operations were carried out in independent sector treatment centres in Northern Ireland in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by type.

Shaun Woodward: The information requested is not held centrally and will take some time to collate. I will write to the hon. Member with the relevant information as soon as it becomes available and place a copy in the Library.

Examination Results

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the (a) GCSE, (b) A level and (c) key stage results were for the 100 (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in Northern Ireland with the (A) highest and (B) lowest percentage of children receiving free school meals in each of the last three years.

Angela Smith: The requested information is as follows:
	
		GCSE, A level and Key Stage 2 results for the 100 post-Primary and Primary schools with the highest percentage of pupils entitled to free school meals for the last three years
		
			  Post Primary schools Primary schools 
			  % of Year 12 pupils achieving 5 or more GCSEs or equivalent at grades A*-C % of pupils in the final year of an A level course achieving 2 or more A levels or equivalent at grades A-E % achieving the expected level or above in Key Stage 2 English % achieving the expected level or above in Key Stage 2 Mathematics 
		
		
			 2004–05 35 90 58 62 
			 2003–04 33 87 (44)— (44)— 
			 2002–03 32 88 55 59 
		
	
	(44) Data not available
	
		GCSE, A level and Key Stage 2 results for the 100 post-Primary and Primary schools with the lowest percentage of pupils entitled to free school meals for the last three years
		
			  Post Primary schools Primary schools 
			  % of Year 12 pupils achieving 5 or more GCSEs or equivalent at grades A*-C % of pupils in the final year of an A level course achieving 2 or more A levels or equivalent at grades A-E % achieving the expected level or above in Key Stage 2 English % achieving the expected level or above in Key Stage 2 Mathematics 
		
		
			 2004–05 83 98 91 93 
			 2003–04 82 97 (45)— (45)— 
			 2002–03 82 97 88 90 
		
	
	(45) Data not available
	Note:
	Due to Industrial action, Key Stage 2 Assessment results were not available in 2003–04

Fishing

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people are estimated to have visited Northern Ireland during 2005 on fishing holidays.

Angela Smith: Figures for 2005, relating to the number of direct 1 visitors who came to Northern Ireland specifically because of fishing, or who participated in sea, game or coarse fishing during their stay in Northern Ireland are presented as follows. These figures are not mutually exclusive; one visitor could have participated in more than one type of fishing during their stay.
	1 A direct visitor is one who entered NI directly via a NI air or sea port and excludes those who entered NI via ROI and ROI residents.
	
		Visitors (excluding those who entered NI via ROI and ROI residents) who participated in fishing during their stay in Northern Ireland (2005)
		
			  Actual reason for visit Participated Total 
		
		
			 Sea fishing 400 4,100 4,500 
			 Game fishing 300 2,700 3,000 
			 Coarse fishing 700 2,500 3,200 
		
	
	Note:
	Due to small sample sizes the above figures should be treated with caution.

General Practitioners

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average (a) gross annual salary and (b) weekly working hours were of GPs in Northern Ireland in the last period for which figures are available.

Shaun Woodward: (a) Following the introduction of the new General Medical Services (GMS) contract with effect from 1 April 2004, the contract for the provision of General Medical Services is between the relevant Health and Social Services Board and a GMS practice rather than individual GPs. Under the contract, each GMS practice receives payment and can generate income through a number of streams, some of which are core and some in which participation is a matter of choice for the practice concerned. It is a matter for each GMS contractor to determine how its practice is organised and how much of the funding it receives goes directly to each GP in the practice by way of salary/profit sharing. Since, as independent contractors, GPs are not required to declare information about their salaries, it is not possible to provide accurate average salary figures for the profession. However, officials estimate that in Northern Ireland, on average, the gross annual income per GP, after practice expenses, is currently in the region of £85,000 to £95,000.
	(b) No weekly working hours are stipulated for a GMS contractor (practice) or each GP. However, each GMS contractor is responsible for the provision of General Medical Services to patients within core hours which are defined as,
	the period beginning at 5am and ending at 6:30pm on any day from, and including, Monday to Friday except a public holiday and a local holiday agreed with the Board".

Heart and Lung Transplants

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average NHS waiting time for a heart and lung transplant was in each of the last five years for which records are available in Northern Ireland.

Shaun Woodward: Information on the average waiting time for a heart and lung transplant in each of the last five years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Average waiting time for a heart and lung transplant in days 
		
		
			 2001–02 — 
			 2002–03 — 
			 2003–04 1,402 
			 2004–05 94 
			 2005–06 21 
		
	
	Note: An average waiting time for 2001–02 and 2002–03 is not available as no patients received a heart and lung transplant during these years. Source: Belfast City Hospital Transplant Co-ordinator.
	Figures are based on the time waited by patients, normally resident in Northern Ireland, who received a heart and lung transplant during the financial year. The figures do not include patients who have been removed from the waiting list for medical/social reasons or patients who have died while waiting for the transplant operation.

Homelessness

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what change there has been in the number of people (a) presenting themselves and (b) assessed by the Housing Executive as homeless in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

David Hanson: During the last five financial years (1 April to 31 March 2006 each year) the information requested is as follows:
	
		
			  Presenters Increase compared to previous year Acceptances Increase/Decrease compared to previous year 
		
		
			 2000–01 12,694 1,697 6,457 1,265 
			 2001–02 14,164 1,470 7,374 917 
			 2002–03 16,426 2,262 8,580 1,206 
			 2003–04 17,150 724 8,594 14 
			 2004–05 17,362 212 8,470 -124 
		
	
	Notes:
	Figures for 2005–06 are currently being collated and quality assured and will be available for release by the Housing Executive shortly.

Invest Northern Ireland

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many jobs were secured by Invest Northern Ireland, and its predecessors, for each of Northern Ireland's constituencies in each of the last 10 years.

Angela Smith: The information is as follows.
	Table 1 shows the number of jobs promoted within each parliamentary constituency area as a result of inward investment projects during the 10 years from 1995–96 to 2004–05.
	
		Table 1: New jobs promoted by parliamentary constituency in inward investment projects (1995–96 to 2004–05)
		
			 Parliamentary constituency 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 
		
		
			 Belfast, East 0 44 419 1,149 1,310 40 
			 Belfast, North 109 113 569 250 289 1,476 
			 Belfast, South 60 203 1,571 988 1,920 595 
			 Belfast, West 464 716 153 75 314 250 
			 East Antrim 0 369 200 221 591 2,363 
			 East Londonderry 0 771 62 77 123 26 
			 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 193 344 22 0 236 20 
			 Foyle 1,402 340 1,225 158 960 357 
			 Lagan Valley 1,552 315 0 512 32 0 
			 Mid-Ulster 449 0 75 0 0 0 
			 Newry and Armagh 298 109 0 0 0 300 
			 North Antrim 0 363 244 0 0 12 
			 North Down 6 0 51 0 358 0 
			 South Antrim 0 799 130 86 226 0 
			 South Down 30 45 75 275 0 0 
			 Strangford 41 11 100 14 80 0 
			 Upper Bann 264 45 310 202 145 37 
			 West Tyrone 61 100 0 155 0 30 
			
			 NI total 4,929 4,687 5,206 4,162 6,584 5,506 
		
	
	
		
			 Parliamentary constituency 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 Constituency total 
		
		
			 Belfast, East 142 0 0 410 3,514 
			 Belfast, North 675 0 163 27 3,671 
			 Belfast, South 45 216 649 1,379 7,626 
			 Belfast, West 215 35 72 750 3,044 
			 East Antrim 76 100 67 112 4,099 
			 East Londonderry 0 0 24 0 1,083 
			 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 108 350 202 0 1,475 
			 Foyle 520 93 486 40 5,581 
			 Lagan Valley 40 0 0 16 2,467 
			 Mid-Ulster 0 32 0 166 722 
			 Newry and Armagh 0 75 0 0 782 
			 North Antrim 0 0 0 23 642 
			 North Down 18 41 200 140 814 
			 South Antrim 316 5 0 319 1,881 
			 South Down 134 0 0 0 559 
			 Strangford 15 70 5 19 355 
			 Upper Bann 72 16 110 13 1,214 
			 West Tyrone 150 0 175 53 724 
			   
			 NI total 2,526 1,033 2,153 3,467 40,253 
		
	
	Table 2 shows the number of jobs expected to be created as a result of the Start a Business Programme during the past four years (2002–03 to 2004–05). This information is not available over a longer time period.
	
		Table 2: Jobs created in business start-ups by parliamentary constituency (2002–03 to 2005–06)
		
			 Parliamentary constituency 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 Constituency total 
		
		
			 Belfast, East 57 122 146 111 436 
			 Belfast, North 77 95 113 148 433 
			 Belfast, South 101 163 212 161 637 
			 Belfast, West 83 114 170 176 543 
			 East Antrim 138 173 268 204 783 
			 East Londonderry 130 169 304 254 857 
			 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 186 111 433 374 1,270 
			 Foyle 164 257 458 322 1,201 
			 Lagan Valley 176 150 224 211 761 
			 Mid-Ulster 222 267 342 360 1,191 
			 Newry and Armagh 194 228 355 293 1,070 
			 North Antrim 139 139 256 233 767 
			 North Down 120 198 203 186 707 
			 South Antrim 118 179 213 203 713 
			 South Down 208 290 426 389 1,313 
			 Strangford 151 220 269 260 900 
			 Upper Bann 182 220 311 298 1,011 
			 West Tyrone 130 164 234 247 775 
			   
			 NI total 2,576 3,425 4,937 4,430 15,368

Invest Northern Ireland

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether Invest Northern Ireland has conducted an equality impact assessment on its policy for making land available for industrial use.

Angela Smith: Invest NI is currently carrying out an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) of its Business Development Solutions (BDS) programmes of assistance. The impact assessment will be sent out for public consultation later in 2006.
	Invest NI's policy for making land available for industrial use" will be analysed as part of this Business Development Solutions EQIA.

IRA

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions his Department has had with former IRA members to help prevent future terrorist attacks.

Shaun Woodward: The Government remain committed to ending all violence and criminality in Northern Ireland and continues to engage with those who are committed to making the transition to the political path and to non-violence and exclusively peaceful and democratic means.

Irish Speakers

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland speak Irish, according to the latest census data.

Angela Smith: A total of 115,731 people (7.15 per cent. of those aged three and over) indicated through the 2001 Census that they could speak Irish.

Local Government Auditor

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which Department of the Northern Ireland Administration is responsible for accountability and oversight arrangements in relation to the Northern Ireland Local Government Auditor.

Angela Smith: In Northern Ireland, Local Government Auditors are designated by the Department of the Environment under Article 4 of the Local Government (Northern Ireland) Order 2005. Article 4 provides that the Department may, with the consent of the Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland, designate persons who are members of the staff of the Northern Ireland Audit Office as local government auditors.
	The Northern Ireland Audit Office is statutorily independent of Government.

MI5

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the compatibility with the Patten Report of the transfer of lead responsibility on national security in Northern Ireland to MI5; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: The transfer of lead responsibility for national security intelligence work in Northern Ireland is entirely consistent with the Patten Report paragraph 6.15 and Recommendation 20. Paragraph 6.15 says, inter alia:
	'We recommend that responsibility for policing be devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive as soon as possible, except for matters of national security. '
	It is also wholly consistent with the current position in the rest of the United Kingdom and with the comments at paragraph 6.22:
	'As in the rest of the United Kingdom (including Scotland under the new devolved arrangements there),- the Chief Constable remains fully accountable for the involvement of police in matters involving national security, even though his or her main accountability in such matters is to the Secretary of State rather than to the Policing Board.'

Mortality Statistics

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the five most common causes of death from preventable diseases were among (a) men and (b) women in Northern Ireland in 2005.

Shaun Woodward: The public health strategy Investing for Health recognised that a large proportion of early death and disease is preventable. However, the questions of which illnesses may be considered preventable, and at what age a death may be regarded as too young, are not straightforward.
	Although much work has been done nationally and internationally in recent decades to measure levels of avoidable or premature mortality within populations, there has been a lack of consensus on how these deaths should be defined.
	At present work is under way to define preventable causes of death. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is currently consulting on the development of indicators for use in measuring avoidable and premature mortality.

Motoring Offences

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many motorists in Northern Ireland convicted of speeding offences during 2005 were recorded as having exceeded 100 mph.

David Hanson: Convictions data sources do not collate information on the actual speed in relation to speeding offences. In 2003, the latest year for which data is available, there were 3,144 convictions for excess speed in Northern Ireland.

Motoring Offences

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many motorists in Northern Ireland convicted of drink driving offences during 2005 were recorded as having an alcohol content of more than 4 times the legal limit.

David Hanson: Based on information provided by the Police Service of Northern Ireland relating to drivers breathalysed, in 2005 29 motorists had a reading of exceeding the legal limit by 4 times. One person registered as being 5 times over the legal limit. It should be noted that these figures exclude cases where alcohol levels have been forensically obtained from blood/urine samples.
	In 2003, and excluding offences relating to failure to provide a sample, there were 2,283 convictions for drink driving. Convictions datasets do not, however, hold any additional information relating to the alcohol levels involved. Convictions data beyond 2003 are currently not available.

Newborn Screening Programme

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what medical conditions are screened for in the Newborn Screening programme in Northern Ireland.

Shaun Woodward: Screening is routinely offered to parents of newborn babies for a range of medical conditions. A physical examination is carried out on all babies with a particular focus on screening for developmental dysplasia of the hip, congenital heart disease, congenital cataract and cryptorchidism (descent of the testes in boys). A sample of the baby's blood taken from a heel prick is screened for phenylketonuria, congenital hypothyroidism, cystic fibrosis, tyrosinaemia and homocystinuria. Their hearing is also tested through the newborn hearing screening programme.

Newborn Screening Programme

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what criteria the UK Screening Committee uses when determining for which conditions to screen.

Shaun Woodward: The NSC assesses proposed new screening programmes against a set of internationally recognised criteria including the epidemiology of the condition, the screening test, any treatment options and the acceptability of the screening programme.

Northern Ireland Parades Commission

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether any breaches of security have occurred in the Northern Ireland Parades Commission since its establishment.

Shaun Woodward: On one occasion, in response to a request from a local councillor for a faxed list of band names, the commission inadvertently attached details of a list of band organisers, appearing on the same page. The commission then immediately disclosed this fact to the PSNI. The commission considered the circumstances of this administrative error in order to ensure no recurrence, and responded accordingly.
	Aside from this incident, the commission is not aware of any breaches of security having occurred since its establishment.

Northern Ireland Parades Commission

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions the Northern Ireland Parades Commission has investigated allegations that personal details of members of the public which it held had been leaked; and how many members of staff in the commission have been (a) interviewed and (b) disciplined as a result of investigations into the leaking of information.

Shaun Woodward: The commission has never investigated any allegation that personal details of members of the public which it held have been leaked.
	On one occasion, in response to a request from a local councillor for a faxed list of band names, the commission inadvertently attached details of a list of band organisers, appearing on the same page. The commission then immediately disclosed this fact to the PSNI. The commission considered the circumstances of this administrative error in order to ensure no recurrence, and responded accordingly.

Northern Ireland Police Fund

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the religious breakdown was of staff in the Northern Ireland police fund in each year since it was created.

Shaun Woodward: I have been advised by the Northern Ireland police fund that it does not maintain records of the community breakdown of its staff and cannot provide the information requested.

Northern Ireland Police Fund

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many members of staff in the Northern Ireland police fund have been questioned by the Police Service of Northern Ireland in connection with (a) terrorist related offences and (b) other crimes since it was created.

Shaun Woodward: Disclosure of details concerning police investigations is an operational matter for the chief constable.

Northern Ireland Police Fund

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what Mr. Desmond Clayton's role was within the Northern Ireland Police Fund; what vetting procedure he underwent prior to his appointment; and what relevant experience he brought to his post.

Shaun Woodward: Mr. Clayton was employed by the Northern Ireland Police Fund as its Chief Executive. As an employee of the Fund all matters pertaining to his appointment and terms and conditions of employment are a matter for the Fund.

Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were employed by the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister on 1 March (a) 2002 and (b) 2006.

Angela Smith: The information is as follows.
	
		Number of people employed by Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 31 March 2002(46) 373 
			 1 March 2006 335 
		
	
	(46) Information not available at 1 March 2002

Omagh Bombing

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  if he will take steps to establish a public inquiry into MI5's handling of threat information on a possible bomb attack at Omagh prior to 15 August 1998;
	(2)  how many people were (a) killed and (b) injured as a result of the Omagh bomb;
	(3)  whether he has made representations to (a) the Home Office and (b) MI5 for the head of MI5 to meet the families of the Omagh bomb victims to discuss the statement by the Chief Constable of the Police Service Northern Ireland that MI5 had threat information on a possible bomb attack at Omagh prior to 15 August 1998;
	(4)  if the head of MI5 will meet the families of the Omagh bomb victims to discuss the statement by the Chief Constable of the Police Service Northern Ireland that MI5 had threat information on a possible bomb attack at Omagh prior to 15 August 1998;
	(5)  if he will make a statement on the statement of the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) that some threat information gathered by M15 on a possible bomb attack in Omagh prior to 15 August 1998 was only passed to the PSNI in 2006;
	(6)  if he will list the dates on which MI5 passed information to the Police Service of Northern Ireland relating to a possible bomb attack at Omagh prior to 15 August 1998;
	(7)  if he will review plans to give MI5 primacy on national security in Northern Ireland following confirmation by the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) that MI5 did not pass on to the PSNI threat information relating to Omagh prior to the 1998 Omagh bombing.

Shaun Woodward: The Omagh bombing was the single worst atrocity of the Troubles in Northern Ireland: 29 people were killed and 2 unborn twins died and more than 200 people were injured. The lives of countless people were damaged as a result. We remain committed to catching those who perpetrated this hideous act and to bringing them to justice. The Chief Constable made a clear statement to the Policing Board on 1 March 2006 that the Security Service did not withhold intelligence that was relevant or would have progressed the Omagh enquiry. It remains the policy of successive governments to neither confirm nor deny matters relating to intelligence information. The Treasury Solicitor's Department has explained in correspondence with lawyers acting on behalf of the families of Omagh bomb victims why the Security Service is unable to provide them with any information. We do not believe therefore in the case for a public inquiry; nor is there a case to review the decision to transfer the lead role for national security intelligence work in Northern Ireland from the police to the Security Service.

Parking (Hospitals)

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what (a) revenue was raised and (b) overhead costs were incurred in respect of car parking by each of the hospitals that made charges for car parking in 2005.

Shaun Woodward: The information is not available in the form requested. Where appropriate, the following table shows actual revenue income from parking charges but the overhead costs are estimates. Actual costs are not available.
	
		£
		
			 Hospital Revenue from parking charges in 2005 Estimate of overhead costs in 2005 
		
		
			 Belfast City Hospital 632,000 20,000 
			 Mater Infirmorum Hospital 109,000 35,000 
			 Ulster Hospital 435,000 35,000 
		
	
	In addition to the three hospitals noted, parking at the Royal Group of Hospitals is operated through the private finance initiative. This arrangement does not generate any revenue or incur any overheads for the trust.

Pathways to Work

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have gone through the Pathways to Work programme in Northern Ireland since its inception; how many of those people are currently in employment; and how much the Department for Employment and Learning has spent on the programme.

Angela Smith: Between 3 October 2005 and 31 March 2006, 1,130 claims to incapacity benefit have been made in Pathways to Work areas. In the same period, 84 people have found work. The Department spent £428,110 for this period. Also, £100,000 was provided to the Department of Health and Social Services and Public Safety for the early development costs of the Condition Management Programme and £130,600 to the Social Security Agency for benefit administration costs. Although Pathways to Work began last October, most of the first cohort of clients is still participating in the programme so it will be some time before the impact of the new service can be properly assessed.

Petrol Stations

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  how many petrol filling stations have closed in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how many petrol filling stations have closed in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 2 May 2006
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your parliamentary Questions concerning how many petrol filling stations have closed in Northern Ireland in each of the last (a) 5 years and in each of the last 10 years. I am replying in her absence. (65150, 32231)
	The exact information requested is not available. VAT deregistrations provide some indication, but HMRC confirm that they do not provide all the information because businesses cancel their registration for a wide variety of reasons. For example, the figures include closures of independent petrol filling stations that are now operated by other businesses and exclude closures of petrol filling stations within businesses that continue to run other sites. The total number of enterprises de-registering for VAT in Northern Ireland classified to the Retail Sale of Automotive Fuel" in each of the 10 years to 2004 (this is the latest data available) is:
	
		Analysis showing the count of VAT de-registrations in Northern Ireland for SJC2Q03 5050 retail sale of automotive fuel.
		
			 Data taken at May 2005 Number 
		
		
			 1995 45 
			 1996 50 
			 1997 50 
			 1998 70 
			 1999 60 
			 2000 50 
			 2001 55 
			 2002 40 
			 2003 40 
			 2004 30 
		
	
	Note:
	Estimates are rounded to the nearest 5 to prevent disclosure.
	For further information on business start ups and closures, please see the National Statistics publication VAT Registrations and De-registrations: Business Start-ups and Closures", which is available free of charge on the SBS website: http://www.sbsgov.uk/analytical
	The data also differ slightly from those published by the Small-Business Service (SBS) as adjustments for death lags have only been applied to the published data.

Police (Shooting Incidents)

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many incidents involving shots being fired by police officers in Northern Ireland have been investigated by the Policing Ombudsman; and in how many instances there was a finding of non-justification of the action taken by the officers concerned.

Shaun Woodward: The Police Ombudsman's Office has advised that in the last five years 49 such incidents were referred to the Ombudsman for investigation. Of these, 21 are currently under investigation.
	The Ombudsman has confirmed that the term non-justification" is not a classification that she would use in the closure of such matters. Of the 28 cases investigated and closed, 12 contained recommendations for action on a number of issues.

Pre-school Education

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he will publish the report on the review of pre-school education provision in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The Department of Education published the outcomes of the Review of Pre-School Education in Northern Ireland on 25 April 2006.

Prisoners (Self-harm)

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many incidents of self-harm among prisoners there have been at (a) Maghaberry and (b) Magilligan prisons in each of the last five years.

Shaun Woodward: The number of incidents of self-harm among prisoners in Maghaberry and Magilligan prisons in each of the last five years are shown as follows:
	
		
			 April to March Maghaberry prison Magilligan prison 
		
		
			 2001–02 28 12 
			 2002–03 35 5 
			 2003–04 39 5 
			 2004–05 50 14 
			 2005–06 94 14 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures until March 2004 are approximate, as self-harm statistics were only routinely recorded with effect from April 2004.

PSNI

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many firearms have been lost by the Police Service of Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Shaun Woodward: The Chief Constable has provided the following information in regard to the numbers of firearms lost by the Police Service of Northern Ireland in each of the last five years:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2001 1 
			 2002 0 
			 2003 2 
			 2004 2 
			 2005 2

PSNI

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the outcome was of the Police Service of Northern Ireland investigation launched in early 2005 into allegations that an officer chanted IRA slogans in a Belfast hotel at a Christmas function.

Shaun Woodward: In early 2005, an investigating officer was appointed from the PSNI Internal Investigation Branch to investigate these allegations. The investigation concluded with the officer appearing before a misconduct panel in August 2005 to answer an alleged breach of the Police Code of Ethics. A misconduct sanction was imposed.

Public Sector Employees

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the change was in the number of people employed in the public sector in Northern Ireland between 1995 and 2005.

Angela Smith: Estimates from the Quarterly Employment Survey show that between December 1995 and December 2005 the number of employee jobs in the NI public sector increased by 20,590. The latest figure for public sector jobs in NI stands at 218,822.

Pulmonary Hypertension

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have died from pulmonary hypertension while on the NHS waiting list for a heart and lung transplant in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Shaun Woodward: The information requested is not available.

Recycling

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress is being made on recycling waste in Government Departments in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The new Waste Management Strategy for Northern Ireland requires Government Departments to publish Departmental Waste Management Action Plans by April 2006, which should include commitments to the progressive use of recycled paper and the preparation of detailed waste recycling plans.
	Waste Management Action Plans for all 11 NICS Departments have now been prepared, and will be made available as a single document by the Department of the Environment at the end of April 2006. The first round of monitoring of Departments' performance against their plans will take place at the end of the first year.

Residential Nursing Care Beds

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many residential nursing care beds for elderly people there are in the City of Lisburn.

Shaun Woodward: Information on the number of beds for elderly people in the City of Lisburn is not available, as nursing beds are not designated specifically for the elderly. However, there are currently 522 registered nursing home beds in total within the City of Lisburn.

Schools

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State forNorthern Ireland how many integrated schools haveopened in Northern Ireland in each of the past 20 years.

Angela Smith: All but one of the 56 existing integrated schools have been established over the past 20 years and these schools are as detailed in the following table. Lagan college is the exception, as it opened in 1981.
	
		
			  Integrated primary school (IPS) Post-primary integrated college (IC) 
		
		
			 1985 Forge IPS, Belfast Hazelwood IC, Newtownabbey 
			  Hazelwood IPS, Newtownabbey  
			 1986 All Children's IPS, Newcastle  
			 1987 Bridge IPS, Banbridge  
			  Mill Strand IPS, Portrush  
			 1988 Windmill IPS  
			 1989 Braidside IPS, Ballymena  
			  Enniskillen IPS  
			 1990 Omagh IPS  
			  Portadown IPS(47)  
			 1991 Carhill Controlled IPS, Garvagh Brownlow Controlled IC 
			  Corran IPS, Larne  
			  Oakgrove IPS, Londonderry  
			 1992 Acorn IPS, Carrickfergus Oakgrove IC, Londonderry  
			 1993 Cranmore IPS, Belfast  
			  Loughview IPS, Belfast  
			  Saints and Scholars IPS, Armagh  
			 1994  Erne IC, Enniskillen 
			   Shimna IC, Newcastle  
			 1995 Portaferry Controlled IPS(47) New-Bridge IC, Loughbrickland 
			  Cedar IPS, Crossgar Drumragh IC, Omagh 
			   Integrated College, Dungannon  
			 1996 Oakwood IPS, Derriaghy North Coast IC, Coleraine 
			  Rathenraw IPS, Antrim Slemish IC, Ballymena 
			  Hilden Controlled IPS, Lisburn(47)  
			 1997 Annsborough Controlled IPS, Castlewellan Malone IC, Belfast 
			   Strangford IC, Carrowdore 
			   Ulidia IC, Carrickfergus  
			 1998 Bangor Central Controlled IPS(47) Down Academy Controlled IC(47) 
			  Kilbroney IPS, Rostrevor Fort Hill Controlled IC(47) 
			  Kircubbin IPS Priory Controlled IC(47)  
			 1999 Spires IPS, Magherafelt  
			 2000 Millennium IPS, Saintfield  
			 2001 Carnlough Controlled IPS(47)  
			 2002  Sperrin IC, Magherafelt  
			 2003 Glengormley Controlled IPS  
			  Maine IPS, Randalstown  
			  Round Tower Controlled IPS, Antrim  
			 2004 Drumlins IPS, Ballynahinch Armagh IC 
			  Glencraig Controlled IPS, Holywood(47)  
			  Phoenix IPS, Cookstown  
			  Roe Valley IPS, Limavady  
			 2005 Groarty Controlled IPS(47)  
		
	
	(47) Year of transformation to integrated status or date grant-maintained integrated status acquired.

Schools

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many integrated schools there are in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: There are currently 56 integrated schools comprising 19 integrated post-primary colleges, and 37 integrated primary schools. There is also one independent primary school and additionally one integrated college and one integrated primary school will be opening in September as independent schools.

Sex Offenders Register

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will bring forward additional powers for monitoring sex offenders whose names appear on the sex offenders register on their release from prison; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: I believe it is important that we continually review and develop how we manage offenders in the community. This is why I intend introducing legislation later this year which will strengthen the current sex offender management arrangements in Northern Ireland by placing these on a statutory footing and extending the arrangements to include the management of non-sexual violent offenders.
	The recent consultation on the sentencing framework in Northern Ireland included a wide range of possible sentencing disposals which would provide for: increased public protection through tougher sentences and post-release supervision; a reduction in crime; and improved rehabilitation of offenders in Northern Ireland. Central to that process was consideration of the issue of protection of the public from dangerous violent and sexual offenders through extended sentences underpinned by robust risk assessment and management.
	I will carefully examine all the options, taking into account recent developments and experience in the rest of the UK, and will of course ensure we have the most comprehensive and effective framework for protecting the public in Northern Ireland from the risk posed by dangerous offenders.

Smoking

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State forNorthern Ireland what actions he has taken to ensure that the smoking ban in public places will be enforced.

Shaun Woodward: The draft Smoking (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 is currently the subject of a public consultation exercise. This exercise, which ends on 5 May, seeks views on a number of key areas, including enforcement.

Statemented Children

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children are waiting to be statemented in each education and library board area; and what the longest waiting time was for assessment in each education and library board area in the last five years.

Angela Smith: The following table shows the total number of children at Stage 4 of the Code of Practice. This is where the ELB considers the need for a statutory assessment and if appropriate makes a multi-disciplinary assessment. The table also shows the number of children whose parents have been notified of a proposal to make a statutory assessment, but for whom the assessment process has not yet started. These figures were collated at November 2005.
	
		
			 Education and Library Board Number of children at Stage 4 Number of children whose parents have been notified of a proposed assessment, but the process has not yet started 
		
		
			 Belfast Education and Library Board 220 0 
			 North Eastern Education and Library Board 164 6 
			 South Eastern Education and Library Board 570 60 
			 Southern Education and Library Board 281 25

Teacher Training

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many teacher training places were available at (a) Stranmillis College and (b) St. Mary's College in each of the last five years; how many students applied to each college in each year; what the religious background of students at each college was in each year; and how many teacher training students there were at (i) undergraduate and (ii) postgraduate level at each college in each year.

Angela Smith: The information requested is as follows:
	
		Initial teacher training places at St. Mary's and Stranmillis University Colleges 2001/02 to 2004/05
		
			  Academic year St. Mary's University College Stranmillis University College 
		
		
			 2001/02 230 210 
			 2002/03 235 216 
			 2003/04 240 216 
			 2004/05 240 210 
			 2005/06 230 196 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Education
	
		Applications received for initial teacher training courses at St Mary's and Stranmillis University Colleges 2001/02 to 2004/05
		
			  Academic year St. Mary's University College Stranmillis University College 
		
		
			 2001/02 946 1,410 
			 2002/03 945 1,688 
			 2003/04 2,181 1,893 
			 2004/05 2,462 2,170 
			 2005/06 2,077 1,517 
		
	
	Source:
	St. Mary's University College, Stranmillis University College.
	Note:
	From 2003/04 to 2005/06, St. Mary's University College used the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service to process course applications. Please note that a student may apply for more than one course or to both institutions and may therefore be included more than once.
	
		Religious background of all students enrolled at St. Mary's and Stranmillis University Colleges 2001/02 to 2004/05
		
			 Academic year St. Mary's University College 
			  Protestant Roman Catholic Other Not known Total 
		
		
			 2001/02 20 601 — * 1,020 
			 2002/03 26 819 0 290 1,135 
			 2003/04 28 845 — * 1,155 
			 2004/05 25 819 0 289 1,133 
		
	
	
		
			 Academic year Stranmillis University College 
			  Protestant Roman Catholic Other Not known Total 
		
		
			 2001/02 863 163 23 335 1,384 
			 2002/03 930 188 30 243 1,391 
			 2003/04 939 190 34 208 1,371 
			 2004/05 984 205 38 234 1,461 
		
	
	Note:
	To prevent the identification of individuals, figures less than 5 have been suppressed and are denoted by —. Figures which could allow those figures to be calculated have been replaced by *.
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency
	
		Student enrolments on initial teacher training courses at St. Mary's and Stranmillis University Colleges by level of study2001/02 to 2004/05
		
			 Academic year St. Mary's University College 
			  Undergraduate Postgraduate Total 
		
		
			 2001/02 706 14 720 
			 2002/03 753 17 770 
			 2003/04 790 16 806 
			 2004/05 786 20 806 
		
	
	
		
			 Academic year Stranmillis University College 
			  Undergraduate Postgraduate Total 
		
		
			 2001/02 710 35 745 
			 2002/03 741 41 782 
			 2003/04 762 40 802 
			 2004/05 789 42 831 
		
	
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency.
	HESA data for the 2005/06 academic year is not yet available.

Teachers

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many teachers in Northern Ireland have taken early retirement enhanced packages in each of the last five years in the (a) controlled sector, (b) maintained sector, (c) integrated sector, (d) Irish language medium sector and (e) independent sector.

Angela Smith: The information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		Teacher premature retirements 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2006
		
			 Sector 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 
		
		
			 Controlled 109 122 121 158 254 
			 Maintained 154 172 184 180 253 
			 Integrated 1 2 2 5 4 
			 Irish Language Medium 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Independent(48) 145 129 128 70 98 
			 Total 409 425 435 414 609 
		
	
	(48) Includes FE Colleges, Voluntary Grammar Schools and certain Outside Bodies.

Teachers

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many full-time equivalent teachers have been employed in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years in the (a) controlled sector, (b) maintained sector, (c) integrated sector, (d) Irish language medium sector and (e) independent sector.

Angela Smith: The number of full-time equivalent teachers employed in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years in the (a) controlled sector, (b) maintained sector, (c) integrated sector, (d) Irish Language medium sector is as follows:
	
		
			  September 
			 Sector 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 Controlled 8,272 8,277 8,274 8,244 7,968 
			 Maintained 7,040 6,939 6,929 6,832 6,677 
			 Integrated 722 736 748 784 800 
			 Irish Medium 63 75 81 80 91 
			 Total 16,097 16,027 16,032 15,940 15,536 
		
	
	Note:
	The Department does not hold any information on the number of teachers employed in the Independent sector.

Thomas Slab" Murphy

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his assessment is of the current whereabouts of Thomas Slab" Murphy.

Shaun Woodward: The NIO does not comment about ongoing police investigations.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Affordable Housing

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on planning procedures for affordable homes.

Yvette Cooper: Planning Policy Guidance Note 3: Housing (PPG3) and DETR Circular 6/98 Planning and Affordable Housing set out current policy in relation to planning for affordable housing.
	Draft Planning Policy Statement 3 : Housing (PPS3), published for consultation in December 2005, brings together the policies in PPG3 and the Circular. It would require local planning authorities:
	To identify the level, size, type and location of affordable housing needed in their areas, having regard to relevant sub-regional housing market assessments and regional and local housing and community strategies.
	In the light of this analysis, to formulate policies for their plans, including an overall target for affordable housing provision.
	To ensure that individual proposals for housing development in their areas are consistent with those policies and, where appropriate, make a contribution to the achievement of the target.
	Our policy intention remains to ensure that affordable housing, where it is needed, is provided on site, in order to contribute towards mixed and inclusive communities.

Affordable Housing

Michael Gove: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to increase the amount of Housing Corporation funding available to private developers to provide affordable housing.

Yvette Cooper: Persons other than registered social landlords, including private developers, were eligible to bid for funding from the whole of the Housing Corporation's National Affordable Housing Programme for 2006 to 2008 except for the specialist funding stream. The Housing Corporation is now looking at how best to encourage more bids from developers in future competitions that offer good value for money, high quality and meet assessed needs.

Antisocial Behaviour

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many antisocial behaviour cases involving high hedges there were in (a) Greater London, (b) England and (c) Havering in each of the last seven years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information requested is not collected centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Part 8 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, which gives local authorities powers to determine complaints about high hedges, extends to England and Wales only. It came into force in Wales on 31 December 2004 and in England on 1 June 2005.

Caravan Parks (Illegal Residence)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the number of people illegally residing in tourism caravan parks in each local authority area.

Yvette Cooper: The Department has not made any assessment regarding the numbers of people living on holiday sites.

Code for Sustainable Homes

David Kidney: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister from what date he intends that new developments built on behalf of public sector commissioners will be required to be constructed to the standards contained in the Code for Sustainable Homes.

Yvette Cooper: In the light of an initial analysis of the consultation returns, the Government announced proposals to strengthen the code on 9 March 2006, as well as undertaking further research into future improvements.
	These improvements will be developed over the coming months. As an interim measure all homes with English Partnerships or Housing Corporation funding will meet the new Ecohomes Very Good 2006 standard from 1 April, which is broadly equivalent to the Code Level 3.

Code for Sustainable Homes

David Kidney: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what progress he has made towards publication of the Code for Sustainable Homes.

Yvette Cooper: Consultation on the proposed Code for Sustainable Homes ended on 6 March 2006. In light of the consultation responses, the Government announced proposals to strengthen the code on 9 March 2006. This announcement also said that these improvements would be developed over the coming months.
	My officials are currently working on developing these improvements; they are also carrying out a detailed analysis of the consultation returns including the costs and benefits of suggested changes to the code, in preparation for the production of a final Regulatory Impact Assessment.

Correspondence

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will respond in full to the letter from the hon. Member for Woking of 14 March concerning a constituent, Mr. Aroskin.

Yvette Cooper: I replied to the hon. Member's letter on 28 April.

Departmental Advertising

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much his Department paid for the full page advertisement feature in Regeneration and Renewal magazine of 17 March.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister paid £3,131.00 plus VAT for the full page advertorial in Regeneration and Renewal magazine of 17 March.

Departmental Advertising

Ben Chapman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will announce new guidance on the control of outdoor advertising.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister intends to go out to consultation on new draft regulations and a circular on the control of outdoor advertisements shortly.

Gypsy and Traveller Sites

Andrew George: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what statutory obligations local authorities are under to provide sites for gypsy and traveller accommodation.

Yvette Cooper: Local authorities are not under a statutory obligation to provide sites for Gypsy and Traveller accommodation. However, the Housing Act 2004 requires local housing authorities to assess the housing needs of Gypsies And Travellers residing in, or resorting to, their area and prepare strategies to address this need. Circular 01/2006 requires regional planning bodies to specify in regional spatial strategies the number of pitches required in each local planning authority area to address this need, and authorities must allocate land for these pitches in their development plan documents.

Haven Gateway

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whatmeetings his Department has had with lobbyists and public affairs consultants acting on behalf of the Haven Gateway Partnership; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: No meetings have taken place between the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and lobbyists or public affairs consultants acting on behalf of the Haven Gateway Partnership.
	Officials from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister have held meetings with the Haven Gateway Partnership regarding their proposals for housing growth as part of their plans to build sustainable communities. These meetings included a consultant working for the Regional Development Agency, but we are not aware of any meetings with lobbyist of public affairs consultants. We have recently received a submission from the Haven Gateway Partnership setting out their case to be awarded New Growth Point status and funding. We are considering this submission along with others that have been received.

Departmental Televisions

Jo Swinson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many television sets are in operation in the Department (a) in total, (b) in Minister's private offices and (c) in each office building in the Department; and how many television licences are held by the Department.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has the following number of television sets and television licences:
	
		
			 Property Total number of ODPM owned TV sets in the building Number of TVs in Minister's private office Licence held in ODPM's name Licence held in another's name 
		
		
			 26 Whitehall, London 24 8 — 1 
			 Eland House, London 12 6 1 — 
			 Ashdown House, London 4 n/a 1 — 
			 Exchange Tower, London 0 n/a n/a — 
			 Ashdown House, Hastings 0 n/a n/a — 
			 Hempstead House, Hemel Hempstead 1 n/a 1 — 
			 Building 3, Garston 1 n/a 1 — 
			 1 High St., Glossop 0 n/a n/a — 
			 Fire Experimental Unit, Moreton-in-Marsh 2 n/a 1 — 
			 Hangar 97 Little Rissington 0 n/a n/a — 
			 Marchington, Staffordshire 1 n/a 1 — 
			 ODPM Total 45 14 6 1 
		
	
	ODPM also has three Executive agencies: the QEII Conference Centre, which has six televisions for the use of delegates, the Fire Service College, which provides residential training for the fire and rescue service and has 478 televisions in student bedrooms and common rooms, and the Planning Inspectorate, which has no televisions. Both the QEII Conference Centre and the Fire Service College have TV licences.
	These figures do not include display units that are used solely for the dissemination of departmental information to staff or TVs associated with video conferencing facilities.
	This answer also does not include the buildings occupied by the Government offices, who carry out functions on behalf of 10 Government Departments.

Fire and Rescue Services

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) deliberate fires and (b) deliberate vehicle fires there were in England in each year since 1996–97.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The table shows the number of deliberate primary fires attended by the fire and rescue service in England in each year since 1996–97.
	
		Deliberate primary fires by location of fire, England—1996–97 to 2004–05
		
			  Total Road vehicles Other locations 
		
		
			 1996–97 72,040 36,454 35,586 
			 1997–98 68,399 36,045 32,353 
			 1998–99 72,358 42,631 29,727 
			 1999–2000 87,457 54,499 32,959 
			 2000–01 90,652 59,057 31,595 
			 2001–02 104,468 68,634 35,833 
			 2002–03(49) 100,713 67,296 33,416 
			 2003–04 93,214 58,738 34,476 
			 2004–05(50) 73,013 44,482 28,531 
		
	
	(49) Includes estimates for incidents not recorded during periods of industrial action in 2002–03.
	(50) Data for 2004–05 are provisional.
	Source:
	Fire and Rescue Service FDR1 returns to ODPM.

Fire and Rescue Services

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what targets he has set for reducing the number of deliberate fires.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has a public service agreement target to reduce the number of accidental fire related deaths in the home by 20 per cent. by 31 March 2010 and to achieve a 10 per cent. reduction in deliberate fires by 31 March 2010.
	Deliberate primary fires have fallen again in the latest year; 69,900 were recorded in the 12 months to 30 June 2005, a fall of 20 per cent. compared with the previous year. This is 26 per cent. below the 2010 PSA target of 94,000.

Fire and Rescue Services

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many large outbreaks of fire there have been in each of the last eight years in (a) Romford, (b) Havering and(c) Greater London; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The following tables show the number of primary fires attended by the fire and rescue service in each year from 1997–2004. Data for constituencies and local authorities are held centrally only for 2002 onwards.
	
		Primary fires in Greater London, 1997 to 2004
		
			 Location Greater London 
		
		
			 1997 19,650 
			 1998 19,292 
			 1999 21,385 
			 2000 21,752 
			 2001 22,117 
			 2002(51) 20,040 
			 2003(51) 19,900 
			 2004 17,348 
		
	
	(51) Includes estimates for incidents not recorded during periods of industrial action in 2002 and 2003
	Source:
	Fire and Rescue Service FDR1 returns to ODPM.
	
		Primary fires in Romford constituency and Havering local authority, 2002–04
		
			 Location (52)2002 (52)2003 2004 
		
		
			 Havering LA 330 472 382 
			 Romford Constituency 108 140 117 
			 % assigned to LA and constituency 71 95 96 
		
	
	(52) Excludes incidents not recorded during periods of industrial action in 2002 and 2003
	Note:
	Primary fires include all fires in buildings, vehicles and outdoor structures or any fire involving casualties, rescues, or fires attended by five or more appliances.
	Source:
	Neighbourhood Statistics derived from Fire and Rescue Service FDR1 returns to ODPM.

Fire and Rescue Services

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much has been allocated for fire and rescue services to each London borough in each of the last eight years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The fire and rescue service is partially funded by formula grant. Formula grant comprises revenue support grant, redistributed business rates and principal formula police grant. The Greater London Authority receives the funding with respect to both police and non-police services including fire. The non-police amounts are as follows:
	
		
			  Formula grant 
		
		
			 1998–99 209.696 
			 1999–2000 217.821 
			 2000–01 238.040 
			 2001–02 254.838 
			 2002–03 266.870 
			 2003–04 258.022 
			 2004–05 268.401 
			 2005–06 277.093 
		
	
	It is a matter for the Greater London Authority to decide the distribution of funding among the fire and rescue services in each borough.

Fire and Rescue Services

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total annual budget for each fire authority in England was in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; and what the budget deficit was in each case where this occurred.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The annual budget of a local authority is usually measured by its budget requirement. This must not change between (forecast) budget and (actual) outturn. Also, prior to 1 April 2004, the budget requirement for combined fire authorities in shire areas was zero as fire authority expenditure was financed entirely by payments from county or unitary councils in their area.
	To give a more consistent picture across the last 10 years I have tabled the service expenditure of each single purpose fire authority in England for each of the last ten years for which data are available.
	
		Total service expenditure by single purpose fire authorities for each year from 1995–96 to 2004–05 -- £ thousands
		
			   1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 
		
		
			 E6101 Avon Combined Fire Authority(53) — 24,220 25,622 27,052 28,544 
			 E6102 Bedfordshire Combined Fire Authority(53) — — 14,113 14,427 16,107 
			 E6103 Berkshire Combined Fire Authority(53) — — — 18,617 20,054 
			 E6104 Buckinghamshire Combined Fire Authority(53) — — 13,383 14,045 14,342 
			 E6105 Cambridgeshire Combined Fire Authority(53) — — — 14,845 16,369 
			 E6106 Cheshire Combined Fire Authority(53) — — — 24,378 26,976 
			 E6107 Cleveland Combined Fire Authority(53) — 20,909 21,396 21,771 23,013 
			 E6110 Derbyshire Combined Fire Authority(53) — — 20,382 23,021 23,706 
			 E6111 Devon Combined Fire Authority(53) — — — 28,717 30,999 
			 E6112 Dorset Combined Fire Authority(53) — — 15,039 16,635 17,385 
			 E6113 Durham Combined Fire Authority(53) — . 16,399 16,675 17,451 
			 E6114 East Sussex Combined Fire Authority(53) — — 19,827 20,055 22,488 
			 E6115 Essex Combined Fire Authority(53) — _ — 42,472 45,085 
			 E6117 Hampshire Combined Fire Authority(53) — — 33,466 35,921 39,421 
			 E6118 Hereford & Worcester Combined Fire Authority(53) — — — 16,661 17,529 
			 E6120 Humberside Combined Fire Authority(53) — 24,742 26,638 27,733 28,691 
			 E6122 Kent Combined Fire Authority(53) — — — 42,388 45,176 
			 E6123 Lancashire Combined Fire Authority(53) — — — 40,939 43,113 
			 E6124 Leicestershire Combined Fire Authority(53) — — 17,358 19,188 19,836 
			 E6127 North Yorkshire Combined Fire Authority(53) — 16,038 17,090 17,449 19,132 
			 E6130 Nottinghamshire Combined Fire Authority(53) — — — 25,804 27,294 
			 E6132 Shropshire Combined Fire Authority(53) — . — 11,368 12,503 
			 E6134 Staffordshire Combined Fire Authority(53) — — 23,043 24,150 25,053 
			 E6139 Wiltshire Combined Fire Authority(53) — — 11,900 12,484 13,483 
			 E6142 Greater Manchester Fire and CD Authority 70,409 73,474 77,164 79,733 81,512 
			 E6143 Merseyside Fire and CD Authority 47,187 52,737 52,113 55,166 57,804 
			 E6144 South Yorkshire Fire and CD Authority 30,491 31,257 33,244 36,004 38,293 
			 E6145 Tyne and Wear Fire and CD Authority 35,889 36,983 38,002 41,907 41,451 
			 E6146 West Midlands Fire and CD Authority 67,469 69,578 73,645 77,775 80,982 
			 E6147 West Yorkshire Fire and CD Authority 53,017 54,574 57,280 59,920 63,221 
			 E6160 London Fire and CD Authority2 250,060 259,190 265,489 275,287 280,626 
		
	
	
		£m
		
			   2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–042 2004–052 
		
		
			 E6101 Avon Combined Fire Authority(53) 29,924 31,332 33,837 34,935 39,700 
			 E6102 Bedfordshire Combined Fire Authority(53) 16,158 17,405 18,645 20,250 21,726 
			 E6103 Berkshire Combined Fire Authority(53) 21,066 22,434 23,803 26,230 29,594 
			 E6104 Buckinghamshire Combined Fire Authority(53) 15,786 16,525 17,393 19,685 19,594 
			 E6105 Cambridgeshire Combined Fire Authority(53) 17,306 18,171 18,527 22,346 23,858 
			 E6106 Cheshire Combined Fire Authority(53) 25,538 27,815 28,726 33,945 40,332 
			 E6107 Cleveland Combined Fire Authority(53) 24,096 25,491 26,710 30,013 33,350 
			 E6110 Derbyshire Combined Fire Authority(53) 25,065 25,839 26,893 26,963 31,152 
			 E6111 Devon Combined Fire Authority(53) 32,513 33,997 36,227 39,023 44,272 
			 E6112 Dorset Combined Fire Authority(53) 18,080 18,966 20,258 17,509 23,541 
			 E6113 Durham Combined Fire Authority(53) 18,330 20,084 20,758 23,949 23,407 
			 E6114 East Sussex Combined Fire Authority(53) 23,306 24,348 26,934 20,937 31,825 
			 E6115 Essex Combined Fire Authority(53) 47,383 49,691 51,591 54,349 59,430 
			 E6117 Hampshire Combined Fire Authority(53) 40,743 44,711 47,597 51,390 54,919 
			 E6118 Hereford and Worcester Combined Fire Authority(53) 17,766 19,455 20,768 22,399 24,519 
			 E6120 Humberside Combined Fire Authority(53) 30,598 31,291 32,532 32,595 38,193 
			 E6122 Kent Combined Fire Authority(53) 46,105 48,054 49,743 52,927 56,669 
			 E6123 Lancashire Combined Fire Authority(53) 44,243 45,905 48,467 51,791 55,642 
			 E6124 Leicestershire Combined Fire Authority(53) 21,117 22,075 23,330 24,871 29,396 
			 E6127 North Yorkshire Combined Fire Authority(53) 18,663 20,087 23,348 21,515 21,053 
			 E6130 Nottinghamshire Combined Fire Authority(53) 28,221 30,290 31,722 33,127 37,378 
			 E6132 Shropshire Combined Fire Authority(53) 12,688 12,796 14,545 15,363 16,183 
			 E6134 Staffordshire Combined Fire Authority(53) 25,347 27,350 28,807 31,546 34,207 
			 E6139 Wiltshire Combined Fire Authority(53) 15,126 15,764 16,840 17,383 19,299 
			 E6142 Greater Manchester Fire and CD Authority 86,244 89,300 94,729 92,638 97,625 
			 E6143 Merseyside Fire and CD Authority 58,847 61,022 62,525 60,564 65,715 
			 E6144 South Yorkshire Fire and CD Authority 37,880 41,470 43,371 42,640 50,143 
			 E6145 Tyne and Wear Fire and CD Authority 44,559 45,905 48,449 45,362 50,180 
			 E6146 West Midlands Fire and CD Authority 83,252 87,781 90,682 87,491 99,285 
			 E6147 West Yorkshire Fire and CD Authority 64,657 67,508 71,156 69,864 78,940 
			 E6160 London Fire and CD Authority(55) — — — — — 
		
	
	(53) Fire authorities did not exist until the first year shown and were created following local government reorganisation. All fire services were previously provided by the county council.
	(54) Figures for 2003–04 and 2004–05 are presented on a Financial Reporting Standard 17 (FRS17) basis. All other years are presented on a non-FRS17 basis.
	(55) London Fire Authority became part of the Greater London Authority in 2000–01.
	Source:
	ODPM Revenue Outturn (RO) returns 1995–96 to 2004–05—RS data.

Fire and Rescue Services

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister on how many occasions during 2005 the fire brigade was called out to deal with incidents in hotels and similar establishments where a fire alarm had been triggered by cigarette smoke and there was no fire; what estimate he has made of the cost; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Homelessness

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people were homeless in (a) England, (b) the South West and (c) Taunton constituency in each year since 1992.

Yvette Cooper: Information about local authorities actions under homelessness legislation is collected in respect of households, rather than people, and at local authority rather than constituency level. The constituency of Taunton includes Taunton Deane District Council, West Somerset District Council and Mid Devon District Council.
	The number of households accepted by the district councils as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need for each year since 1996, and the number of households in temporary accommodation arranged by the councils under homelessness legislation as at 31 December in each year is tabled. Information is also collected on the number of people who sleep rough—that is, those who are literally roofless on a single night—and these are also presented in the table. Figures from 1992 are also presented for England and South West.
	The duty owed to a household accepted as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need is to secure suitable accommodation. If a settled home is not immediately available, the authority may secure temporary accommodation until a settled home becomes available. As an alternative to the provision of temporary accommodation some authorities arrange for households to remain in their current accommodation (homeless at home), until a settled solution becomes available.
	
		Households accepted(56)as homeless during the year, households in temporary accommodation(57) at the end of the year, andnumbers of rough sleepers(58)
		
			  Taunton Deane District Council West Somerset District Council 
			  Households accepted during the year Households in TA as at 31 December Rough sleepers Households accepted during the year Households in TA as at 31 December Rough sleepers 
		
		
			 1992 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 1993 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 1994 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 1995 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 1996(59) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 1997 227 67 n/a 36 3 n/a 
			 1998 272 113 1 49 8 0 
			 1999 336 149 2 80 12 0 
			 2000 291 186 2 90 23 0 
			 2001 244 197 0 91 21 0 
			 2002 254 175 0 135 34 0 
			 2003 260 125 0 91 31 0 
			 2004(60) 234 111 0 114 52 0 
			 2005(60) 281 97 0 72 52 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Mid Devon District Council South West 
			  Households accepted during the year Households in TA as at 31 December Rough sleepers Households accepted during the year Households in TA as at 31 December Rough sleepers 
		
		
			 1992 n/a n/a n/a 8,990 n/a n/a 
			 1993 n/a n/a n/a 9,370 n/a n/a 
			 1994 n/a n/a n/a 9,210 n/a n/a 
			 1995 n/a n/a n/a 9,960 n/a n/a 
			 1996(59) n/a n/a n/a 9,830 n/a n/a 
			 1997 98 17 n/a 8,780 2,920 n/a 
			 1998 83 102 9 8,910 4,380 290 
			 1999 131 155 9 9,480 4,520 203 
			 2000 137 132 0 11,170 5,270 124 
			 2001 142 153 0 11,380 5,280 75 
			 2002 160 225 0 12,280 5,820 61 
			 2003 160 364 0 11,770 6,460 64 
			 2004(60) 170 181 0 10,100 6,410 44 
			 2005(60) 132 170 0 8,650 6,710 50 
		
	
	
		
			  England 
			  Households accepted during the year Households in TA as at 31 December Rough sleepers 
		
		
			 1992 138,740 63,070 n/a 
			 1993 127,630 53,580 n/a 
			 1994 118,490 45,630 n/a 
			 1995 117,490 44,140 n/a 
			 1996(59) 113,590 42,190 n/a 
			 1997 102,000 44,870 n/a 
			 1998 104,630 53,790 1,850 
			 1999 105,370 62,180 1,633 
			 2000 111,340 73,080 1,180 
			 2001 117,830 77,510 703 
			 2002 123,840 85,140 596 
			 2003 135,590 94,610 504 
			 2004(60) 127,770 101,030 508 
			 2005(60) 100,170 98,730 459 
		
	
	n/a = Data not available.
	(56) Households eligible under homelessness legislation, found to be unintentionally homeless and in a priority need category, and consequently owed homelessness duty.
	(57) Households in accommodation either pending a decision on their homelessness application or awaiting allocation of a settled home following acceptance. Excludes those households designated as homeless at home" that have remained in their existing accommodation and have the same rights to suitable alternative accommodation as those in accommodation arranged by the authority.
	(58) Number of persons sleeping rough, based on local authority mid-year counts or estimates. Data not collected prior to 1998.
	(59) reflects households accepted and housed under homelessness provisions of the 1985 Housing Act; subsequent years includes cases accepted under the 1996 Housing Act.
	(60) Provisional data.
	Source:
	ODPM P1E Homelessness returns (quarterly) and HSSA returns (annual)

Housing

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what changes the 2006 Budget makes to the Government's targets for increasing the provision of shared ownership.

Yvette Cooper: In his 2006 Budget statement on 22 March, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the allocation of £970 million in 2006–08 for shared equity schemes to help 35,000 new homeowners get their first step on the home ownership ladder. This will contribute to the Government's previously stated target of helping over 100,000 more households into home ownership from 2005 to 2010.
	The intention to establish a Shared Equity Task Force was announced on 22 March also. This is being led by me and John Healey to examine further ways to increase the number of people able to benefit from shared equity programmes and help the growing number of intermediate" households. The Task Force will report by the end of 2006 to inform decisions on the Comprehensive Spending Review in the summer of 2007.

Housing

Diana Johnson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many new homes he expects to be built in Hull for (a) rent and (b) sale in (i) 2006–07 and (ii) each of the following three years.

Yvette Cooper: Through the Housing Corporation's Affordable Housing Programme over 90 social rented homes and around 20 low cost home ownership properties will be provided in 2006–08 in Kingston upon Hull.
	Future delivery of affordable housing after 2007–08 will be dependent upon the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 and any future bidding round held by the Housing Corporation.

Housing

Diana Johnson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much the Government has made available for housing in Hull in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: The following table shows expenditure through Social Housing Grant and housing capital allocations to the local authority in Kingston upon Hull for 1997–98 to 2004–05.
	
		£ million
		
			  Expenditure through social housing grant Housing capital allocations 
		
		
			 1997–98 2.36 7.1 
			 1998–99 2.70 9.4 
			 1999–2000 2.97 9.9 
			 2000–01 1.77 16.1 
			 2001–02 3.28 22.3 
			 2002–03 2.92 23.6 
			 2003–04 0.40 22.2 
			 2004–05 1.47 23.3 
		
	
	Social Housing Grant is expenditure through the Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme (ADP) and Local Authority Social Housing Grant (up to 2002–03).
	Housing Capital Allocations include Housing Investment Programme/Regional Housing Board investment, Major Repairs Allowance (from 2001–02) and Capital Receipts Initiative (from 1997–98 to 1999–2000 only).
	A breakdown of how the local authority capital allocations were used is not available.

Housing

Diana Johnson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much his Department provided to (a) housing associations and (b) the local authority to build houses to (i) rent and (ii) buy in Hull in the latest year for which figures are available.

Yvette Cooper: In 2004–05, £713,000 was spent on provision of social rented units through the Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme out of a total spend of £1.47 million in Kingston upon Hull. The balance of the funds was provided for works to RSL stock and voluntary purchase grant.
	A breakdown of how the local authority capital allocations were used is not available.

Housing

Diana Johnson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people are on the waiting list for rented social housing in Kingston-upon-Hull; and how many were on the list in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 17 October 2005, Official Report, column 811W to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) in which the number of people on the housing register in each English local authority was presented for the period 1997–2005.
	Not everyone on the waiting list is necessarily in urgent housing need. The waiting list includes those who consider social housing as their preferred or one of a number of housing options, and those who decide to get onto the waiting list ladder before they need or want to move house—particularly where the priority system is heavily based on waiting time.

Housing

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate his Department has made of housing growth in Coventry over the next 10 years.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish (Andrew Gwynne) on 24 April 2006, Official Report, column 930W.

Housing

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment has been made of the potential for displacement of problems associated with housing market failure into areas adjacent to renewal schemes.

Yvette Cooper: As part of the process of deciding upon funding allocations, each of the pathfinders' proposals is assessed to ensure consistency with the broader regional supply of and demand for housing as set out in regional housing strategies and regional spatial strategies, so as to guard against displacement effects.

Housing

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many ballots on large scale voluntary transfers of council houses (a) were held in 2005 and (b) have been held in 2006; what the result was of each ballot; and how many houses were involved in each ballot.

Yvette Cooper: The information requested is tabled as follows.
	
		LSVT ballots taken place to date in 2006
		
			 Local authority Partial area name Number of dwellings Date of Ballot (2006) Result (Percentage) Turnout (Percentage) 
		
		
			 Mid Devon n/a 3,200 22 February 75.6 No 78.2 
			 LB Tower Hamlets Holland 401 24 February 74 Yes 70.6 
			 LB Tower Hamlets Bow bridge 249 10 March 72.2 Yes 60 
			 Selby DC n/a 3,081 10 March 64.29 No 75.6 
			 LB Tower Hamlets Devons Estate 624 10 March 53.7 Yes 68.1 
			 Pendle n/a 3,444 15 March 84.4 Yes 69.1 
			 Cannock Chase n/a 5,763 27 March 51.9 No 67.9 
			 North Lincs n/a 10,370 28 March 63 Yes 67.5 
			 Waveney n/a 4,767 31 March 67.7 No 79.2 
		
	
	Total ballots 9
	
		LSVT ballots that took place in 2005
		
			 Local Authority Partial area name Number of dwellings Date of Ballot (2005) Result (percentage) Turnout (percentage) 
		
		
			 LB Tower Hamlets Norton House 69 7 February 97.4 Yes 80.9 
			 LB Lambeth Clapham Park Estate 1,398 24 March 59.3 Yes 78 
			 Stafford BC n/a 6,091 29 March 66.8 Yes 68.7 
			 North Norfolk n/a 4,500 31 March 64 Yes 76 
			 Broxbourne BC n/a 3,423 1 April 69.7 Yes 68.3 
			 Ellesmere Port and Neston n/a 5,500 4 April 51 .8 No 60.4 
			 North Somerset n/a 6,300 4 April 76.5 Yes 66.2 
			 LB Tower Hamlets Island Gardens & Westferry/IOD 569 8 April 76.6 Yes 54.8 
			 LB Tower Hamlets Island Homes 1,305 8 April 65.5 Yes 42.7 
			 LB Tower Hamlets St. Georges Estate 317 8 April 66 Yes 52.6 
			 LB Tower Hamlets Sheltered Housing Stock 238 27 May 60.2 Yes 82.9 
			 Hyndburn n/a 3,636 9 June 79.2 Yes 72.3 
			 LB Islington Ring Cross 240 12 July 78.7 Yes 71. 6 
			 Sedgefield n/a 9,867 19 July 58.1 No 73.2 
			 LB Tower Hamlets Parkside Estates 1,671 22 July 50.4 Yes 45.7 
			 Teesdale n/a 920 26 July 88.2 Yes 80.5 
			 Macclesfield BC n/a 5,262 17 August 62.2 Yes 77.4 
			 Sefton n/a 11,162 18 August 55.05 No 68.2 
			 LB Tower Hamlets Glamis Estate 209 22 September 69.2 Yes 51.1 
			 LB Tower Hamlets Wapping Estates 606 22 September 57.5 No 55.4 
			 LB Tower Hamlets Chicksand West 245 22 September 88 Yes 76.7 
			 LB Tower Hamlets Lincoln 312 22 September 57.4 No 54.5 
			 LB Tower Hamlets Mansford 699 22 September 64.0 Yes 47.9 
			 Rossendale BC n/a 3,833 8 November 82.6 Yes 62.4 
			 Sheffield Shiregreen 2,700 11 November 85.9 Yes 70.7 
			 Aylesbury Vale n/a 7,382 11 November 74.4 Yes 71. 3 
			 Manchester City Council West Wythenshawe 6,650 2 December 88.7 Yes 74.8 
			 Derwentside n/a 7,000 5 December 75.74 Yes 66.1 
			 Waverley BC n/a 5,140 9 December 52.75 No 68.6 
			 West Lanes DC n/a 7,590 12 December 57 No 61 
			 Sefton n/a 11,162 13 December 71. 4 Yes 54.7 
			 LB Lambeth Stockwell Park Estate 1,164 19 December 79.1 Yes 72 
			 LB Tower Hamlets Barleymow Estate 181 21 December 55.7 No 68 
			 LB Tower Hamlets Lansbury Estate 648 21 December 61. 5 Yes 56.4 
			 LB Tower Hamlets Clichy and Stepney Green Estates 1,035 21 December 62.6 No 52.6 
			 LB Tower Hamlets Cranbrook 534 21 December 71.8 No 47.2 
			 LB Tower Hamlets Exmouth Estate 667 21 December 78 Yes 52 
			 LB Tower Hamlets Granby & Hereford 471 21 December 63.5 No 52.2 
			 LB Tower Hamlets Longnor, Norfolk and Osier Estates 539 21 December 54.3 No 48.6 
		
	
	Total ballots: 39

Industrial Development (Public Inquiries)

Eric Illsley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether local authorities are required to take action to prevent (a) continued construction and (b) the operation of large-scale industrial developments that have been called in by his Department for consideration by public inquiry.

Yvette Cooper: If development has started without planning permission the local planning authority has a wide range of discretionary enforcement powers to enable them to deal with unauthorised development that is harming amenity in the neighbourhood. It is for the local planning authority to decide in each case which is the most appropriate course of action taking account of local circumstances.

Investments/Property Portfolio

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what obligations local authorities have to maximise the rateof return from their investments and property portfolio.

Yvette Cooper: Local authorities have no obligation to maximise returns from any form of investment. We have issued guidance on investments, under section 15 of the Local Government Act 2003, to which local authorities are required to have regard. It recommends that authorities give priority to the security and liquidity of their investments. They are free to seek the highest rate of return consistent with those priorities.

Local Authority Business Growth Incentive

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much each local authority gained under the Local Authority Business Growth Incentive in 2005–06; and what proportion of the amount retained by each local authority has been reinvested in supporting further business growth to date.

Phil Woolas: The amount of Local Authority Business Growth Incentive (LABGI) grant payments made to each authority can be found on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website at: http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/labgi/endrat.xls.
	All monies awarded under the LABGI scheme are un-ringfenced and we do not hold information on their use. It is for local authorities to decide how their LABGI reward is spent. Some may invest in further business growth while others may choose to invest in better public services for their communities or to keep down council tax pressures.

Local Government Finance Act

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  how many businesses have (a) applied for and (b) successfully applied for a reduction in business rates under section 49 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 in each of the last five years.
	(2)  how many businesses have received small business rate relief in each local council area since it was introduced.

Phil Woolas: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ministerial Residence

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether a second homes council tax discount was claimed from Westminster city council from May 1997 to December 2005 for his official residence at Admiralty house.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) by my right hon. Friend, the Deputy Prime Minister on 12 January 2006, Official Report, columns 782W-83W.

Planning

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many appeals there were against planning decisions in (a) North East Lincolnshire and (b) North Lincolnshire in each of the past five years; and how many appeals were (i) allowed and (ii) dismissed in each year.

Yvette Cooper: The following tables show the number of planning appeals (i) allowed and (ii) dismissed and the total number of appeals decided relating to both authorities in each of the last five years.
	
		(a) North East Lincolnshire
		
			  Decided (i) Allowed (ii) Dismissed 
		
		
			 2000 17 9 8 
			 2001 26 13 13 
			 2002 28 4 24 
			 2003 38 13 25 
			 2004 37 12 25 
			 2005 46 12 34 
		
	
	
		(b) North Lincolnshire
		
			  Decided (i) Allowed (ii) Dismissed 
		
		
			 2000 33 10 23 
			 2001 43 16 27 
			 2002 27 7 20 
			 2003 31 6 25 
			 2004 38 14 24 
			 2005 63 22 41

Regional Administration

Robert Syms: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the (a) sources of income and (b) percentage of income derived from each source for each of the Government Offices of the Regions in each year since their creation.

Yvette Cooper: The Government Offices have only been required to identify income in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister accounts for the past two years and the details are as follows:
	(a) The sources of income as recorded by the Government Offices are minor occupiers, outward secondees, jointly funded projects. Technical Assistance funding and accommodation tariffs. There is also a miscellaneous category that picks up costs not specific to any of the above—such as rates rebates and additional OGD funding for specific projects.
	(b) The percentage of income are as follows:
	
		Percentage
		
			 Government Offices Minor occupiers Outward secondees Jointly funded projects Technical Assistance Tariffs Miscellaneous 
		
		
			 2004–05   
			 North East 9.82 54.26 7.13 24.96 3.84 — 
			 North West 61.59 15.16 8.10 14.10 0.87 0.19 
			 Yorks and Humber 46.76 42.08 5.10 3.95 1.44 0.66 
			 West Midlands 14.04 85.03 0.92 — — — 
			 East Midlands 15.45 61.70 6.59 14.94 1.12 0.20 
			 East 45.62 29.01 17.46 — 7.68 0.22 
			 South East — 56.44 6.72 14.84 22.01 — 
			 South West 52.62 19.60 18.59 — 8.49 0.70 
			 London 15.69 48.75 18.21 8.42 — 8.92 
			
			 2005–06   
			 North East 7.56 57.29 15.11 17.18 2.76 0.10 
			 North West 34.63 34.06 9.77 17.77 2.43 1.33 
			 Yorks and Humber 38.82 34.23 9.30 16.08 1.57 — 
			 West Midlands 20.75 59.23 2.67 17.35 — — 
			 East Midlands 10.41 54.89 0.29 33.08 — 1.33 
			 East 48.98 39.92 0.50 — 7.70 2.89 
			 South East — 61.20 7.37 14.08 17.10 0.24 
			 South West 62.33 14.15 9.67 6.81 2.48 4.56 
			 London 8.12 33.94 21.17 9.01 — 27.76

Regional Administration

Robert Syms: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whatthe annual income has been of each of the Government Offices of the Regions in each year since their creation.

Yvette Cooper: The Government Offices have only been required to identify income in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister accounts for the past two years and the details are set out as follows:
	
		£
		
			 Government Office 2004–05 2005–06 
		
		
			 North East 548,938 899,499 
			 North West 1,637,812 888,179 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 797,334 935,082 
			 West Midlands 448,602 485,022 
			 East Midlands 527,200 796,923 
			 East 660,030 724,463 
			 South East 651,932 889,376 
			 South West 2,395,026 2,097,501 
			 London 1,203,651 1,425,885

Shared Ownership/Key Worker Schemes

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether there is a statutory definition of key worker; and what definition his Department uses.

Yvette Cooper: There is no statutory definition of a key worker. For the purposes of the Key Worker Living (KWL) programme, a key worker is someone employed by the public sector in health, education or community safety delivering an essential public service in a frontline role where there are serious recruitment and retention problems. Within this broad definition sponsor Government Departments and Police and Fire Authorities specify the groups at which help should be targeted based on recruitment and retention issues in critical frontline services.

Supporting People

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister for what reason he has refused funds to local authorities for the Supporting People programme.

Phil Woolas: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has not refused funds to any Supporting People local authority.

Telephone Advice Lines

Andrew Love: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many telephone advice lines his Department and its non-departmental public bodies support; how many telephone advisers each employs; and how much funding is provided to each by (a) his Department and its non-departmental public bodies, (b) other Government Departments, (c) the private sector and (d) the voluntary sector.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The central Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not support any telephone advice lines. Similar information relating to the Office's regional offices, agencies, non-departmental public bodies or other bodies that the Office sponsors is available only at disproportionate cost.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Attendance Allowance

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the average period of time between an application for attendance allowance and the application being approved.

Anne McGuire: The administration of attendance allowance is a matter for the chief executive of the disability and carers service, Mr Terry Moran. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Terry Moran
	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the average period of time between an application for attendance allowance and the application being approved.
	The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the chief executive of the disability and carers service.
	The information requested is in the following table:
	
		Average length of time in days to clear attendance allowance normal rules claims for the period April 2005 to February 2006.
		
			  Year to date Cleared year to date Actual average clearance time (in days) 
		
		
			 April 2005 to February 2006 339,334 18.0

Benefits

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the estimated costs are of carrying out full benefit entitlement checks for pensioners at home.

Stephen Timms: The information requested is not available. The Department's systems do not currently record separately the costs of this activity.

Capita

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the value of contracts held by his Department with (a) Capita plc and (b) its subsidiaries was in the last three financial years.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 29 March 2006
	The Department is currently unable to confirm value of contracts held for 2005–06. This information will not be available until July 2006.
	(a) Contracts held with Capita plc
	
		Winter fuels contract
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 2002–03 3.72 
			 2003–04 3.72 
			 2004–05 3.97 
		
	
	Record storage contract commenced July 2004, estimated contract value £70 million per annum until 2011.
	
		Office services contract(61)
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 2002–03 21.49 
			 2003–04 26.47 
			 2004–05 28.03 
		
	
	(61) Ends December 2006
	
		Consultancy and professional services contracts through framework agreements
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 2004–05 1.82 
		
	
	(b) Value of contracts held with subsidiaries
	
		Lonsdale Travel—air and ferry travel contract(62)
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 2004–05 5.51 
		
	
	(62) Contract awarded to Lonsdale company acquired by Capita in November 2005
	The Rent Service, an Executive agency, which became part of DWP April 2004 held various contracts for the provision of training sourced through SCAT.
	
		Capita Business Services Ltd.
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2004–05 113,910 
		
	
	Health and Safety Executive, an Executive agency of DWP contract values are:
	
		
			  £ 
			 Capita Health Solutions  
		
		
			 2002–03 156,927 
			 2003–04 39,681 
			 2004–05 4,178 
			   
			 Montague Evans Consultancy Services  
			 2002–03 19,885 
			 2003–04 21,548 
			 2004–05 0 
			   
			 Capita Business Services Ltd.  
			 2002–03 70,052 
			 2003–04 3,839 
			 2004–05 51,818 
			   
			 Symonds Group Ltd.  
			 2002–03 19,850 
			 2003–04 3,885 
			 2004–05 37,707

Capita

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much business his Department has placed with (a) Capita Group plc and (b) its subsidiaries in each of the past five years; what the total value is of outstanding contracts placed with Capita Group plc and its subsidiaries by his Department; for which current tenders (i) Capita Group plc and (ii) its subsidiaries have been invited to bid; and whether (A) Capita Group plc and (B) its subsidiaries have seconded staff (1) temporarily and (2) on a longer term basis to (x) his Department and (y) its agencies.

Margaret Hodge: The information is as follows:
	
		Contracts that were in existence in the last five years and the payments made on those contracts
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2001–02(63)  
			 Winter fuels 3.72 million 
			 Office services 20.968 million 
			 2002–03  
			 Winter fuels 3.72 million 
			 Office services 21.494 million 
			 With subsidiaries  
			 Capita Health Solutions 156,927 
			 Montagu Evans 19,885 
			 Capita Business Services Ltd. 70,052 
			 Symonds Group Ltd. 19,850 
			   
			 2003/04  
			 Winter fuels £3.72 million 
			 Office services 26.473 million 
			 With subsidiaries  
			 Capita Health Solutions 39,681 
			 Montagu Evans 21,548 
			 Capita Business Services 3,839 
			 Symonds Group Ltd. 3,885 
			   
			 2004–05  
			 Winter fuels 3.97 million 
			 Office services 28.031 million 
			 Consultancy and professional services contracts through framework agreements 1,817,328 
			 With subsidiaries  
			 Lonsdale Travel Air and Ferry contract(64) 5.51 million 
			 Capita Health Solutions 4,178 
			 Capita Business Services 51,818 
			 Symonds Group Ltd. 37,707 
			 The Capita Group 113,910 
			   
			 2005–06(65)  
			 Office services — 
			 Records storage — 
			 Consultancy and professional services contracts through framework agreements — 
			 With subsidiaries  
			 Lonsdale Travel Air and Ferry contract — 
			 Veredus Executive Resourcing — 
		
	
	(63) DWP was formed in July 2001. These contracts relate to the former DSS only.
	(64) Contract awarded to Lonsdale, company acquired by Capita in November 2005.
	(65) Spend for this year will not be available until July 2006.
	Total value of outstanding contracts with Capita or its subsidiaries:
	Record storage estimated contract value £70 million per annum until 2011.
	Consultancy and professional services—£1.21 million.
	Executive recruitment—£1.21 million.
	Lonsdale Travel Air and Ferry Contract—unable to provide contract value as it depends upon usage.
	The Department has currently invited Capita to submit tenders for two consultancy and professional services contracts through framework agreements.
	The Department is unable to provide information about secondees from Capita or its subsidiaries as this information is not held centrally.

Contracts (Voluntary Sector)

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many contracts are let by his Department to voluntary sector organisations; how many of those are let on an annual basis; and how many of those had received finalised contracts for 2006–07 by 31 March.

Margaret Hodge: Information is available in the format requested on contracts let after September 2005. Since then Jobcentre Plus has let 15 contracts to voluntary and community sector organisations. This does not include companies limited by guarantee. Of these 15 contracts, none are let on an annual basis. Further tenders are currently being considered for the new deal provision. None of these will be let on an annual basis.
	The Pension Service currently only has one contract with a voluntary sector organisation. It is not an annual contract but a one-off ad hoc agreement.
	The DWP Financial Inclusion Team let a number of contracts (around 41) in 2005–06 to voluntary and community sector organisations to assist customers with the opening of suitable accounts into which to have their benefits or pensions paid. None of these contracts are let on an annual basis.

Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the Minister for Pensions will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 7 March 2006.

James Plaskitt: I replied to the hon. Member on 27 March 2006.

Council Tax

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will re-introduce council tax rebates for pensioners.

Stephen Timms: The £200 payment to help with council tax bills was for 2005–06 only. We have no plans to make a payment for 2006–07. However, council tax benefit is available to pensioners on a low income. When pension credit was introduced in October 2003, we committed almost £½ billion a year to increasing the amounts on which housing benefit and council tax benefit are based: this meant that around two million pensioner households became either entitled to council tax benefit for the first time or qualified for more help.

Departmental Leave (Stress)

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff have been on sick leave suffering from stress in the Department in each of the last three years; and what percentage of the total staff number this represents.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions records sickness absence related to a range of mental health conditions under the category Anxiety, Depression and Other Mental Health Issues". This classification includes stress-related absences but also other mental health problems such as, for example, schizophrenia and depression.
	The following table contains information about the number of employees who were absent in the years 2003 to 2005 due to anxiety, depression and other mental health issues:
	
		
			  Number of staff absent in year  Percentage absent 
		
		
			 2003 13,906 9.4 
			 2004 14,313 10.1 
			 2005 10,478 7.8 
		
	
	For the years 2003 and 2004, it is possible to extract data on the number of employees who were absent due to illness attributed to stress. Data for 2005 was not recorded in a way that enables this information to be retrieved.
	The following table contains information about the number of employees who were absent for reasons specifically attributed to stress:
	
		
			  Number of staff Percentage absent 
		
		
			 2003 7,239 4.9 
			 2004 7,545 5.3

Employment Schemes (Surrey)

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have participated in (a) new deal for 25 plus, (b) Project Work, (c) Jobsearch Provision and (d) Employment Zones employment schemes in (i) Surrey, (ii) Guildford and (iii) Waverley in each year since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: Information on the numbers of people who have participated in new deal 25 plus in Surrey, Guildford, and Waverley in each year since 1997 is in the table.
	
		New deal 25 plus
		
			  Individual starts 
			 Period Surrey Constituency of Guildford Waverley local authority 
		
		
			 July-December 1998 370 — — 
			 January-December 1999 570 30 20 
			 January-December 2000 370 20 30 
			 January-December 2001 350 20 10 
			 January-December 2002 410 20 20 
			 January-December 2003 490 20 20 
			 January-December 2004 620 30 30 
			 January-December 2005 580 20 10 
			 January-February 2006 140 20 10 
			 Total 3,900 180 150 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Data for Surrey consist of the constituencies of East Surrey, Epsom and Ewell, Esher and Walton, Guildford, Mole Valley, Reigate, Runnymede and Weybridge, South West Surrey, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, and Woking.
	2. New deal 25 plus started in July 1998.
	3. Latest data are to February 2006.
	4. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	Source:
	DWP Information Directorate
	Project Work was a pilot which ran in 31 areas from February 1997 and was developed by the previous administration. It has not operated since 1998–99 and starts data are not available.
	Jobsearch Provision is normally used to describe the services offered by Programme Centres. These provide individually tailored job search help, including CV preparation, interview skills, telephone techniques, and help with application forms. Information on starts to Programme Centres is not available at the level requested.
	Employment Zones are not operating in Surrey.

In-work Credit

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his latest estimate is of the impact on employment of the in-work credit; how many people are receiving the credit; what the cost of the credit was in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The in-work credit pilots are running in 22 Jobcentre Plus districts.
	Eligible participants are paid £40 a week over and above their total income when they start work for 16 hours or more a week. The payment is tax-free and is paid for a maximum of 52 weeks. It is payable on top of any other in-work benefits which eligible parents may be entitled to, for example working tax credit and housing benefit. The in-work credit is primarily paid to lone parents but in April 2005, it was extended to other eligible parents in four London Jobcentre Plus districts.
	A thorough evaluation is being undertaken to assess the impact of the pilot on eligible parents, including movements off benefit and into work. We expect to publish a quantitative report using the first 12 months of programme data at the end of the year. In addition, qualitative evaluation will explore the impact of the pilots on the attitudes, motivations and actions of participants, and will also examine the effectiveness of delivery. We expect to publish this report in spring 2007.
	In November 2005, the latest date for which information is available, more than 11,000 eligible parents were in receipt of the in-work credit. Spend on the in-work credit between April 2004 and October 2005 was approximately £13 million.

New Deal

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what training programmes are available as part of the new deal for those (a) under and (b) over 25 years.

Margaret Hodge: The new deal aims to help people into sustainable work as quickly as possible, and, where appropriate, personal advisers can refer people to relevant training if this will increase the likelihood of an individual gaining employment.
	The mandatory new deal programmes new deal for young people (NDYP) and new deal 25 plus (ND25 plus) contain a formal training element. People aged 18 to 24 who have been claiming jobseeker's allowance (JSA) for six months can access training, including basic skills training, through the NDYP full time education and training option. This can lead to a recognised qualification up to S/NVQ Level 2 or equivalent.
	People aged 25 and over who have been claiming JSA for 18 out of the last 21 months can undertake training through the ND25 plus education and training opportunities. This can lead to a recognised qualification up to S/NVQ Level 3 or equivalent. Participants can also access basic employability training to address basic skills needs, and work-focused training if they lack the specific work related skills needed by local employers. Training in the mandatory new deal programmes is delivered across employment sectors for varying lengths of time, and is tailored to the needs of individuals and local employers. In exceptional circumstances one-off or specialist provision approved by Jobcentre Plus may be available where resources allow.
	The voluntary new deal programmes do not contain a formal training element. However, people on new deal for lone parents (NDLP) and new deal for partners (NDP) can take up the training opportunities that are available through NDYP and ND25 plus. They can also access training available through the Learning and Skills Council, or through other local agreements. They can also be referred to other training such as basic skills or English for Speakers of Other Languages and, as with the mandatory new deals, one-off or specialist provision approved by Jobcentre Plus may be available where resources allow.

New Deal

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of those entering new deal in 2003 were (a) still claiming job seeker's allowance and(b) still on the new deal at the end of December 2005.

Margaret Hodge: People joining the new deal will not necessarily be claiming jobseeker's allowance (JSA). Some, particularly those joining the voluntary new deals, could be claiming income support or other benefits.
	Of those who entered the new deal in 2003, who were claiming JSA, only 2 per cent. were still on the same JSA claim at the end of November 2005, the latest date for which benefit information is available. An additional 26 per cent. of those who started new deal in 2003, who were claiming JSA, ceased to claim JSA but were recorded as starting a new claim before November 2005.
	6 per cent. of those who started the new deal in 2003, including those on a range or different benefits, were still on new deal at the end of August 2005, the latest date for which information is available.
	It is the case in a dynamic labour market that some people will move into and out of employment after leaving new deal. However, new deal helps people stay in work longer than those in the general labour market and people on the programme have still added to their skills and experience, making it easier for them to find a job in the future.
	Notes:
	Data is inclusive of new deal for young people, new deal 25 plus, new deal for lone parents, new deal 50+, new deal for partners and new deal for disabled people, and is available up to August 2005.

Pathways to Work

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of the £360 million over two years allocated to the roll out of Pathways toWork is intended to cover (a) the cost of condition management programmes, (b) the £40 per week back towork credit, (c) staff training and (d) in-work support.

Margaret Hodge: The information is not available. We are still working on plans for the national roll-out of Pathways to Work and will announce these in due course.

Pathways to Work

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have been subject under the Pathways to Work pilots to a mandatory work-focused interview; and in how many cases such an interview has been waived in the case of those with (a) certain infectious and parasitic diseases, (b) neoplasms, (c) diseases of the blood and blood forming organs and certain diseases involving the immune mechanism, (d) endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases, (e) mental and behavioural disorders, (f) diseases of the nervous system, (g) diseases of the eye and adnexa, (h) diseases of the ear and mastoid process, (i) diseases of the circulatory system, (j) diseases of the respiratory system, (k) factors influencing health status and contact with health services, (l) diseases of the digestive system, (m) diseases of the skin and subcutaneous system, (n) diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue, (o) diseases of the genitourinary system, (p) pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium, (q) certain conditions originating in the perinatal period, (r) congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities, (s) symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified and (t) injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes.

Margaret Hodge: There have been a total of 148,290 Pathways to Work starts by new customers who are subject to a mandatory initial work-focused interview. 5,750 of these have been waived. The available information, by medical condition, of those who have had their initial work-focused interview waived is in the table.
	
		
			  Number of initial mandatory work-focused interviews waived 
		
		
			 Certain Infectious and Parasitic Diseases 20 
			 Neoplasms 380 
			 Diseases of the blood 0 
			 Endocrine, Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases 30 
			 Mental and Behavioural Disorders 1,060 
			 Diseases of the Nervous System 170 
			 Diseases of the Eye and Adnexa 20 
			 Diseases of the Ear and Mastoid Process 10 
			 Diseases of the Circulatory System 190 
			 Diseases of the Respiratory System 70 
			 Diseases of the Digestive System 60 
			 Diseases of the Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue 10 
			 Diseases of the Musculoskeletal system and Connective Tissue 340 
			 Diseases of the Genitourinary System 40 
			 Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Puerperium 30 
			 Certain Conditions Originating in the Perinatal Period 0 
			 Congenital Malformations and Deformations 10 
			 Symptoms, Signs and Abnormal Clinical and Laboratory findings 300 
			 Injury Poisoning and other consequences of external causes 120 
			 Other conditions 170 
			 Not yet classified(66) 2,720 
			 Total 5,750 
		
	
	(66) The data on medical condition for Pathways to Work participants is incomplete. It is drawn from incapacity benefit data that appears in the National Benefits Database, and this database lags behind other Pathways Evaluation Database sources by some three to four months.
	Notes:
	1. The statistics are taken from the Pathways to Work Evaluation Database.
	2. Data is to the end of October 2005.
	3. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.

Pension Protection Fund

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the amount that would be needed to be raised by the Pension Protection Fund levy if it was set without regard to affordability, and at a level which was expected to remain constant, as a proportion of deficit, in future years.

Stephen Timms: No such estimate has been made.

Pension Protection Fund

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2006, Official Report, column 235W, on pensions, what (a) interest rates and (b) mortality assumptions were used in arriving at the estimates for the amount of the increase in the Pension Protection Fund levy between 2003 and 2005 attributable to these two sources.

Stephen Timms: In their 2003 and 2005 levy estimates GAD adjusted a set of Minimum Funding Requirement valuations. The factors GAD used in making those adjustments reflected buy-out costs used by insurers. Interest rates and mortality assumptions are implicit in those costs and cannot be separated out.
	In the PPF's £575 million estimate no unique interest rate assumption was used. The PPF set the levy by reference to a significant number of scenarios each of which was based on a range of factors including interest rates.
	The mortality assumptions the PPF used were based on standard actuarial tables published by the Continuous Mortality Investigation Bureau, specifically the PA92 tables with the medium cohort mortality improvement rates.

Post Office Card Account

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Post Office card account holders there are in each constituency in Wales.

James Plaskitt: Information showing the number of DWP benefit and pension payment accounts paid by direct payment into a Post Office card account for each parliamentary constituency has been placed in the Library.

Teleclaiming

Terry Rooney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance he has issued to his staff on making reasonable adjustments to the teleclaiming system for people with disabilities.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 26 April 2006
	As part of the new Jobcentre Plus process, we encourage all new claims to be made over the telephone. We do however recognise that this is not suitable for some of our customers and alternative arrangements are in place, including:
	arranging a face-to-face interview at the customers local Jobcentre Plus office, or if more appropriate, a home visit;
	arranging for a third party/nominated advocate to represent them on the telephone;
	the completion of a clerical claim form;
	the use of our Textphone/Minicom service which is available for customers who are deaf or hard of hearing.
	This advice and guidance has been communicated to Jobcentre Plus staff and is part of their learning and development.

HEALTH

Adverse Drug Reactions

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many suspected unexpected serious adverse reactions have been reported to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and its predecessor organisations, in each year since 1997.

Jane Kennedy: Clinical trials are designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of new drugs and new indications for approved drugs. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) receives applications for over 1,000 new trials each year involving a planned number of new trial participants of approximately 90,000 to 95,000. Serious unexpected suspected adverse reactions (SUSARs) occur during clinical trials and are reported to the MHRA.
	The number of SUSARs received between 1997 and 2005 is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Number of reports 
		
		
			 1997 250 
			 1998 564 
			 1999 431 
			 2000 439 
			 2001 606 
			 2002 452 
			 2003 336 
			 2004 335 
			 2005 359 
		
	
	In 2005, it would appear that the total number of SUSARs received involved an estimate of less than 0.4 per cent. of the total planned number of patients participating in clinical trials for that year. These occurred with a wide range of drugs being investigated in a wide range of medical conditions, many of which were serious, such as cancers, etc.

Blood Products

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what imported blood products were licensed by the Medical Healthcare products Regulatory Authority between 1976 and 1990; on what date they were licensed; and if she will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: A range of blood products which were manufactured outside of the United Kingdom, including human albumin, immunoglobulins, plasminogen, factor VIII and factor IX were authorised by the Department and its subsequent Next Steps Agency, the Medicines Control Agency, during the period 1976 to 1990. This information was derived from the current database held by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The names of the products, the product licence number and date of authorisation are shown as follows:
	Blood products that were licensed in the United Kingdom during 1976–90 and imported were manufactured in Austria or the United States of America. The following is a list currently held in the MHRA database.
	
		
			 IA Specific Product Name Date granted 
		
		
			 PI 00215/0009 Immuno Human Albumin Solution BP Injection 20%W/V 8 September 1976 
			 PI 00231/0045 Albuminar-25 Normal Serum Albumin Human USP 25 September 1980 
			 PI 00231/0056 Albuminar-5 Normal Serum Albumin Human USP 20 August 1981 
			 PI 00231/0057 Albuminar-20 Normal Serum Albumin Human USP 20 August 1981 
			 PI 03070/0007 Hyate C Lyophilised Powder For Injection 400 To 700 Units/Vial 3 December 1984 
			 PI 04447/0005 Alpha Viii Injection 250iu/5ml 19 February 1985 
			 PI 00032/0107 Atgam Injection 50mg/ml 11 April 1985 
			 PI 00215/0021 Immuno Factor Viii Inhibitor Bypassing Fraction Powder For Injection 500u 17 October 1985 
			 PI 00215/0022 Immuno Factor Viii Inhibitor Bypassing Fraction Powder For Injection l000u 17 October 1985 
			 PI 00055/0109 Gamimune-N Intravenous Immunoglobulin 5% In 10% Maltose Ph 4.25 29 August 1986 
			 PI 00215/0025 Immuno Lys-Plasminogen, Vapour Heated Freeze-Dried Bulk Powder l0g 28 February 1989 
			 PI 00215/0023 Endobulin Injection 50mg/MI 0.5g l.0g 2.5g 5.0g 7.5g l0.0g 27 June 1989 
			 PI 00231/0090 Monoclate-P Injection 250iu/Viai 13 December 1989 
			 PI 00231/0091 Monoclate-P 500, International Units Per Nominal Potency 13 December 1989 
			 PI 00231/0092 Monoclate-P 1000, IU Per Vial Nominal Potency 13 December 1989 
			 PI 04447/0007 Albutein 5% Infusion 22 January 1990 
			 PI 04447/0008 Albutein 20% 22 January 1990 
			 PI 04447/0009 Albutein 25% 22 January 1990 
			 PI 04447/0014 Venoglobulin Injection 16 March 1990 
		
	
	Data submitted in support of the applications were considered satisfactory with regard to quality, safety and efficacy requirements.

Bowel Cancer Screening

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the change in bowel cancer screening capacity in England since 1 April.

Rosie Winterton: The national bowel cancer screening programme will be rolled out nationally over the next three years. We started the roll-out as promised in April. Capacity will be built up progressively over the next three years. It is too soon to estimate what changes in capacity have already occurred.

British Fluoridation Association

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding her Department has given to the British Fluoridation Association in the last five years for which data is available.

Caroline Flint: Funding provided by the Department to the British Fluoridation Society in the last five years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Funding (£) 
		
		
			 2001–02 82,000 
			 2002–03 84,050 
			 2003–04 85,000 
			 2004–05 87,000 
			 2005–06 90,000

Cancer

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients normally resident in Hull North have been treated for cancer in the past 12 months.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Count of finished consultant episodes and patients for selected primary care trusts (PCTs) of residence where the primary diagnosis is cancer in national health service hospitals, England 2004–05
		
			  PCT of residence Finished consultant episodes  Patient counts 
		
		
			 Eastern Hull 3,151 1,600 
			 West Hull 4,204 1,829 
		
	
	Notes:
	Finished consultant episode (FCE)
	A FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year.
	Patient counts
	Patient counts are based on the unique patient identifier called the hospital episode statistics identifier (HESID). This identifier is derived based on patient's date of birth, postcode, sex, local patient identifier and NHS number, using an agreed algorithm. Where data is incomplete, HESID might erroneously link episodes or fail to recognise episodes for the same patient. Care is therefore needed, especially where duplicate records persist in the data. The patient count cannot be summed across a table where patients may have episodes in more than one cell.
	Diagnosis (primary diagnosis)
	The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
	PCT and strategic health authority (SHA) data quality
	PCT and SHA data was added to historic data-years in the HES database using 2002–03 boundaries, as a one-off exercise in 2004. The quality of the data on PCT of treatment and SHA of treatment is poor in 1996–97, 1997–98 and 1998–99, with over a third of all finished episodes having missing values in these years. Data quality of PCT of general practice (GP) practice and SHA of GP practice in 1997–98 and 1998–99 is also poor, with a high proportion missing values where practices changed or ceased to exist. There is less change in completeness of the residence-based fields over time, where the majority of unknown values are due to missing postcodes on birth episodes. Users of time series analysis including these years need to be aware of these issues in their interpretation of the data.
	Ungrossed data
	Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data that is the data is ungrossed.
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Capita Group

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many contracts her Department holds with (a) Capita plc and (b) its subsidiaries which still have a potential duration of five years or more.

Liam Byrne: There are currently no contracts with Capita plc and its subsidiaries which have a potential duration of five years or more.

Carers (Respite)

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which (a) bodies and (b) budgets will bear the cost of respite support to be provided for carers as set out in paragraph 5.55 of the 'Our Health, Our Care, Our Say' Health White Paper.

Liam Byrne: We are currently exploring options to develop additional support to carers, including the provision of short-term, home-based respite support in crisis or emergency situations.
	Carers already have the right to an assessment of their own needs and local authorities have responsibilities to meet those needs, including the provision of breaks from caring if necessary.

Clinical Trials

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines she has issued on the conduct of clinical trials in England and Wales.

Jane Kennedy: All clinical trials that are conducted in England and Wales are regulated by the Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations 2004 which implemented the Clinical Trials Directive (2001/20/EC) into United Kingdom law. This directive came into force in the UK on 1 May 2004. At the time the legislation came into force, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued comprehensive guidance and advice on the new regulatory framework to all stakeholders including those involved in the conduct of clinical trials. The Department also issued specific guidance about sponsorship responsibilities in publicly funded trials under the new regulatory framework. The Department's research governance framework for health and social care which is the core standard for health care draws attention to the law regulating clinical trials and to the principles of good clinical practice. In addition, the European Commission has issued detailed guidance on the requirements under the directive.

Community Hospitals

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions on community hospitals she has had with primary care trusts since the publication of the White Paper, Our Health, Our Care, Our Say".

Liam Byrne: The Department has not sent any communications, with specific reference to community hospitals, directly to primary care trusts (PCTs) since the publication of the recent Health White Paper Our Health, Our Care, Our Say: a new direction for community service" in January 2006.
	The Department has received local correspondence, Parliamentary Questions, Treat Official cases and Private Office cases relating to community hospitals. At times, in order to respond to these items of correspondence, the Department requests briefing from the relevant strategic health authority (SHA). SHAs may contact PCTs to gather the required information.

Community Hospitals

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many community hospitals closed in each year between 1979 and 1997.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not available centrally.

Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 15 March.

Liam Byrne: The letter was replied to on 26 April 2006.

Dental Services

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the legal costs to the Department of dental contracts which are in dispute.

Rosie Winterton: The appeal functions of the Secretary of State in relation to the General Dental Services and Personal Dental Services Transitional Provisions Order 2005, the national health service (General Dental Services Contracts) Regulations 2005 and the national health service (Personal Dental Services Agreements) Regulations 2005 have been delegated to the NHS Litigation Authority. The formal applications for dispute resolution presently received will be undertaken within the authority's current resources.

Dental Services

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether dentists working as vocational trainees will be paid for their work in 2005–06.

Rosie Winterton: From the introduction of the vocational training scheme in 2002 to date, dental vocational trainees have been paid a training allowance/salary. In 2005–06, the allowance was £27,372 per annum.

Departmental Websites

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list (a) the websites operated by her Department and (b) the reports placed on the internet in March 2006, indicating in each case whether paper copies were also made available.

Liam Byrne: The Department operates the following externally facing websites:
	1. Department of Health (www.dh.gov.uk)
	2. National Screening Committee (www.nsc.nhs.uk)
	3. NHS Identity (www.nhsidentity.nhs.uk)
	4. Bristol Inquiry (www.bristol-inquiry.org.uk)
	5. Care Standards Tribunal (www.carestandardstribunal.gov.uk)
	6. Carers (www.carers.gov.uk)
	7. London's Health (www.londonshealth.gov.uk)
	8. Minority Health (www.minorityhealth.gov.uk)
	9. Royal Commission on Long Term Care for the Elderly (www.royal-commission-
	elderly.gov.uk)
	10. Royal Liverpool Children's Inquiry (www.rlcinquiry.org.uk)
	11. MMR The Facts (www.mmrthefacts.nhs.uk)
	12. Care Services Improvement Partnership (www.csip.org.uk)
	13. 18 Weeks Delivery Programme (www.18weeks.nhs.uk)
	14. 5-a-day (www.5aday.nhs.uk)
	15. Breastfeeding (www.breastfeeding.nhs.uk)
	16. Expert Patients Programme (www.expertpatients.nhs.uk)
	17. Healthy Start (www.healthystart.nhs.uk)
	18. Immunisation (www.immunisation.nhs.uk)
	19. NHS Comms Link (www.nhscommslink.nhs.uk)
	20. NHS Live (www.nhslive.nhs.uk)
	21. NHS Photo Library (www.photolibrary.nhs.uk)
	22. Your Life! (www.yourlife.nhs.uk)
	23. Your Health, Your Care, Your Say resources (www.yoursayresources.nhs.uk)
	24. Caring about Carers (www.carers.gov.uk)
	25. Minority Health (www.minorityhealth.gov.uk)
	26. NHS Identity (www.nhsidentity.nhs.uk)
	27. Playing Safely campaign site (www.playingsafely.co.uk)
	28. Social Work Careers (www.socialworkcareers.co.uk)
	29. Talk to Frank campaign site (www.talktofrank.com)
	30. C.A.L.M. campaign site (www.thecalmzone.net)
	31. Think About Drink campaign site (www.wrecked.co.uk)
	32. NHS Modernisation Agency (www.wise.nhs.uk)
	33. UK National Screening Committee (www.nsc.nhs.uk)
	34. Giving Up Smoking (www.givingupsmoking.co.uk)
	35. Health and Social Care Awards (www.healthandsocialcareawards.org)
	36. NHS Editorial Library (www.editorial-library.nhs.uk)
	37. Face It: Hepatitis C Information (www.hepc.nhs.uk)
	38. Health Needs Mapping (www.healthmapping.nhs.uk)
	39. Nursing UK (www.nursinguk.nhs.uk)
	40. The National Research Register (www.nrr.nhs.uk)
	41. The Research Findings Register (www.refer.nhs.uk)
	42. NHS Jobs (www.jobs.nhs.uk)
	43. North Western Deanery (www.nwpgmd.nhs.uk)
	44. The Shipman Inquiry website (www.the-shipman-inquiry.org.uk)
	45. The Victoria Climbie" Inquiry website (www.victoria-climbie-inquiry.org.uk)
	46. NHS Housing (www.housing.nhs.uk)
	47. National Leadership Network (www.nationalleadershipnetwork.org)
	Department reports are published on the main corporate website, www.dh.gov.uk.
	The Department does not keep a list of individual reports added to its website. The information shown in the table was put together using the site search functionality. It identifies items described as 'reports' added to the site during March 2006. For completeness, other publications added to the site during the same period are also listed. We have indicated where alternative versions including paper copies of the report or publication were also made available.
	There were 11 reports and 34 other publications in total. These figures exclude press releases, bulletins, circulars and letters, directions, committee minutes, leaflets, full and partial regulatory impact assessments.
	
		Department of Health reports
		
			 Report title PDF version Paper copy 
		
		
			 Changes to regulatory framework for adult social care services Yes No 
			 Consultation on simplification of reimbursement rules for NHS dispensing contractors: Summary of responses Yes No 
			 Creating the future: Modernising careers for salaried dentists in primary care—Stakeholder consultation response report Yes No 
			 Expert Advisory Group on AIDS annual report 2005 Yes No 
			 Let me in—I'm a researcher! Yes Yes 
			 Making a difference: Safe and secure data sharing between health and adult social care staff Yes No 
			 Partnerships for Older People Projects: Making the shift to prevention Yes Yes 
			 The evidence base for the National Service Framework for Renal Services modules one and two: Part one—Dialysis and transplantation Yes No 
			 The evidence base for the National Service Framework for Renal Services part two: Chronic kidney disease, acute renal failure and end of life care Yes No 
			 UK consultation on European Commission proposal for a programme of community action in the field of health and consumer protection 2007 to 2013: Summary of responses Yes No 
			 Winter report 2005–06 Yes No 
		
	
	
		Other Department of Health publications
		
			 Publication title PDF version Paper copy 
		
		
			 A national framework to support local workforce strategy development: A guide for HR directors in the NHS and social care Yes Yes 
			 Choice of scan Phase 2: guidance Yes No 
			 Community nurses' handbook revised edition Yes Yes 
			 Controlled drugs: Monitoring and inspection guidelines—Core activities for CD monitoring and inspection work—Primary care Yes No 
			 DfES Personal, social and health education certification for community nurses handbook Yes Yes 
			 Direct payments for people with mental health problems: A guide to action Yes No 
			 From segregation to inclusion: Commissioning guidance on day services for people with mental health problems Yes Yes 
			 Gershon efficiency programme 2004 to 2008: High level delivery plan Yes No 
			 Government response to the Health Committee's report on changes to primary care trusts Yes Yes 
			 Government response to the House of Commons Health Committee's First Report of Session 2005–06: Smoking in Public Places Yes Yes 
			 Guidelines for the investigation and management of mucopolysaccharidosis type VI Yes No 
			 Initial guide for the commissioning of in-patient and residential rehabilitation drug and alcohol treatment interventions as part of treatment systems Yes No 
			 Looking for a school nurse Yes Yes 
			 Measuring Childhood Obesity: Guidance to Primary Care Trusts Yes No 
			 National heart and lung transplant standards Yes No 
			 NHS continuing health care: Action following the Grogan judgment Yes No 
			 NHS Trust: model standing orders, reservation and delegation of powers and standing financial instructions March 2006 Yes No 
			 Partnerships for Older People Projects Grant—Guidance note for applications for 2007–08 Yes No 
			 Payment by results: Implementation support guide 2006–07 (technical guidance) Yes No 
			 Practice based commissioning: achieving universal coverage Yes Yes 
			 Primary Care Trust: model standing orders, reservation and delegation of powers and standing financial instructions March 2006 Yes No 
			 Recognising, understanding and addressing performance problems in healthcare organisations providing care to NHS patients Yes No 
			 Safer management of controlled drugs : Monitoring and Inspection guidelines—Core Activities for CD Monitoring and Inspection Work—Primary Care Yes No 
			 Safer management of controlled drugs: Guidance on strengthened governance arrangements Yes No 
			 Safer management of controlled drugs: Private CD prescriptions and other changes to the prescribing and dispensing of controlled drugs Yes No 
			 School nurse: practice development resource pack 2006: Specialist Community Public Health Nurse Yes Yes 
			 Shared learning: Managing and minimising Failure To Attends (FTAs) Yes No 
			 Strategic Health Authority: model standing orders, reservation and delegation of powers and standing financial instructions March 2006 Yes No 
			 Supporting people with long term conditions to self care Yes Yes 
			 Supporting women into the mainstream: Commissioning women-only community day services Yes Yes 
			 Sustainable development action plan 2006 Yes No 
			 Transition: getting it right for young people Yes Yes 
			 Vocational services for people with severe mental health problems: Commissioning guidance Yes Yes 
			 Volunteers across the NHS: Improving the patient experience and creating a patient-led service Yes Yes

Disabled Parents

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many direct payments were taken up by disabled and sick adults for use in purchasing social care services that support them in their parenting role in the latest year for which figures are available;
	(2)  what steps her Department has taken to encourage local authorities to promote direct payments to disabled parents;
	(3)  what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the direct payment system for disabled parents to purchase appropriate support for their family and parenting responsibilities.

Liam Byrne: Figures for the number of direct payments taken up to support disabled and sick adults in their parenting role are not held centrally.
	Local authorities have a duty to make a direct payment to everyone, including sick and disabled parents, who has been assessed as needing social care services and who are able to manage them, even if they need assistance to do so. Councils should fully consider the particular support needs sick and disabled parents may have with their parenting role as part of the assessment process.
	The Department has not carried out an assessment regarding the effectiveness of the direct payments system for disabled parents. However, we have commissioned the personal social services research unit (PSSRU) at the London School of Economics to evaluate the implementation of direct payments. PSSRU will report on their findings later in 2006.

District Community Midwives

Jim Devine: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what pay banding district community midwives have been awarded under Agenda for Change in (a) Newcastle, (b) Blackpool, (c) Leeds, (d) Lambeth, (e) Southampton, (f) Bristol and (g) Swansea.

Liam Byrne: The information requested relating to national health services organisations in Newcastle, Blackpool, Leeds, Lambeth, Southampton and Bristol is not collected centrally. Information for the NHS in Swansea is a matter for the Welsh Assembly.

Employment Costs (Nurses/Doctors)

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much it costs on average to employ a (a) nurse and (b) doctor for each of the first 10 years of service from qualification.

Liam Byrne: Information on the costs of employing staff by length of service from qualification is not held centrally.

Food

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average daily expenditure per patient is on food by NHS trusts for which data is available.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 26 April 2006
	The average daily cost of feeding one patient in 2004–05 was £6.07 for all national health service trusts.

Gender Reassignment Operations

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2006, Official Report, column 446W, on gender reassignment operations, what is meant by combined operations for (a) male to female and (b) female to male gender reassignment operations.

Liam Byrne: The office for population censuses and surveys 4.2 codes X15.1 and X15.2, combined operations are intended to cover cases where the patient has one or more operation at the same time. As part of gender reassignment surgery these may include reconstruction of the genitals, the removal of female breasts, the shaping of a male contoured chest, and the shaping of a female contoured chest. There is no precise definition as to what combined operations may consist of.

Gene Therapy Clinical Trials

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to fund the MDEX consortium gene therapy clinical trials.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 30 January 2006, Official Report, column 167W.

General Practitioners

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average take-home pay was for general practitioners in (a) England and (b) Kingston-upon-Hull, North in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Information on the average take-home pay for general practitioners in England and Kingston-Upon-Hull is not collected centrally. However, figures based on information for Great Britain only are available.
	
		
			  Intended average net remuneration/income (£) 
		
		
			 1994–95 41,890 
			 1995–96 43,165 
			 1996–97 44,483 
			 1997–98 46,031 
			 1998–99 48,037 
			 1999–2000 52,606 
			 2000–01 54,219 
			 2001–02 56,510 
			 2002–03 61,618 
			 2003–04(67) 67,040 
		
	
	(67) Forecast figures.

General Practitioners

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many single-handed general practitioner practices there are in (a) Kingston-upon-Hull and (b) East Yorkshire.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		General practitioner practices(68) for North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire strategic health authority,as at 30 September 2005
		
			 Number (headcount) 
			All practices Single handed 
		
		
			 Q11 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire  253 51 
			  5KJ Craven, Harrogate and Rural District Primary Care Trust (PCT) 26 0 
			  5E3 East Yorkshire PCT 23 2 
			  5E5 Eastern Hull PCT 28 17 
			  5KH Hambleton and Richmondshire PCT 18 1 
			  5AN North East Lincolnshire PCT 34 15 
			  5EF North Lincolnshire PCT 22 6 
			  5KK Scarborough, Whitby and Rydedale PCT 27 2 
			  5E2 Selby and York PCT 33 3 
			  5E6 West Hull PCT 27 5 
			  5E4 Yorkshire Wold and Coast PCT 15 0 
		
	
	(68) Figures relate to practitioners, excluding general practitioner (GP) registrars and GP retainers, who are single handed, that is had no partners although their practice may have a GP registrar or GP retainer.
	Source:
	NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre, general and personal medical services statistics

General Practitioners

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the annual (a) mean and (b) median net income of general practitioners has been in each year since 1997.

Liam Byrne: The mean net income of general practitioners, 1996–97 to 2003–04, Great Britain is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Intended average net income (£) 
		
		
			 1996–97 44,483 
			 1997–98 46,031 
			 1998–99 48,037 
			 1999–2000 52,606 
			 2000–01 54,219 
			 2001–02 56,510 
			 2002–03 61,618 
			 2003–04(Forecast figure) 67,040 
		
	
	Note:
	Median net income figures are not held centrally.

Gershon Review

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what extra resources in 2006–07 are being released to her Department arising from efficiency gains generated by the Gershon process.

Liam Byrne: From the start of the Gershon programme in March 2004 up to December 2005, the Department had realised savings of £2,205 million. We currently expect that savings for the final quarter of 2005–06 and the following two years will continue at a rate that will ensure as a minimum that the Department remains on track to realise our £6,500 million target by March 2008.
	These savings are all released into front line service provision providing additional service and better quality care.

Health and Social Care Information Centre

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health by what process Dr. Foster was selected as the private partner for the new venture with the Health and Social Care Information Centre; and what steps were taken to ensure this process met the Department's procurement guidelines.

Liam Byrne: An independent review of the health informatics market concluded that Dr. Foster was the most suitable private sector partner to work with the NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre. A formal due diligence exercise confirmed that although Dr. Foster was relatively new to the market place, it had a robust position. Opinion canvassed among a number of stakeholders confirmed Dr. Foster's strong brand and market position.
	Legal opinion supported the approach that the joint venture was not a procurement and there was no legal requirement for a competitive exercise provided that value for money could be demonstrated. The business case has been approved by Secretary of State for Health.

Health Trainers

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average salary of a health trainer is expected to be; and how many hours on average a health trainer is expected to work per week.

Caroline Flint: It has been estimated that a health trainer would earn in the region of £14,000 working full-time. However, it is up to individual primary care trusts to make decisions about where they allocate resources and how many health trainers they will need to meet the needs of their local population.

Health Treatment Centres

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list each (a) NHS treatment centre, (b) independent sector treatment centre and (c) joint-venture treatment centre led by (i) the NHS and (ii) a private provider; which private provider is involved in each centre; and what the cost to the NHS was of establishing each centre.

Liam Byrne: Details for each scheme and the centrally held capital costs of establishing each national health service treatment centre have been placed in the Library. There is one joint venture, the BUPA Redwood Treatment Centre at Redhill. Information on the cost of establishing independent sector treatment centres is not held centrally, as the costs of establishing such centres are borne by the providers themselves.

Public Information

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she plans to make the obligation on primary care trusts to provide up-to-date, authoritative information to the public as described in paragraph 3.25, page 61, of her White Paper, Our Health, Our Care, Our Say", Cm 6737, a statutory requirement; whether she plans to provide additional resources to primary care trusts to enable them to meet this commitment; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Our aim is that patients should be able to exercise choice in deciding the general practice with which to register. We expect primary care trusts (PCTs) to support patients in this by providing transparent and comparable information on all practices within their areas and intend to place a duty on them to do so. PCTs will be expected to fund any consequential costs from within their allocations.

Heart and Lung Transplant

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the average cost is of a heart and lung transplant within the NHS;
	(2)  what the average NHS waiting time for a heart and lung transplant was in England in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Liam Byrne: The average costs of cardiothoracic transplants are approximately £75,000 for heart transplant, £80,000 for lung and £85,000 for combined heart and lung. This includes the care from admission for transplant to discharge from hospital. It does not include the costs of further follow-up care and drug treatment.
	The most recent data available (1999 to 2003) estimates the median waiting time for cardiothoracic transplants as follows: 137 days for heart transplants and 394 days for lung. There were too few patients on the combined heart and lung transplant waiting list during this period for a robust estimate to be made. The median is the accepted way of reporting waiting times for transplantation.

Home Oxygen Service

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what representations she has received from pharmacists regarding the possibility of her Department reimbursing pharmacists for costs incurred of delivering oxygen to the homes of patients with prescriptions dated after 31 January; and what plans she has to reimburse pharmacists for these costs;
	(2)  in how many primary care trusts pharmacists are being paid to deliver oxygen to the homes of patients with prescriptions dated after 31 January.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 27 April 2006
	The Department has received a number of representations on this specific issue. However, payments to pharmacy contractors for the delivery of cylinder oxygen to patients prescribed home oxygen therapy are a matter for discussion between local primary care trusts and pharmacy contractors. Where pharmacy contracts continue to provide this service against a prescription, they will receive payment under current national health service arrangements.
	Information on the number of pharmacy contractors providing a cylinder service is not held centrally.

Home Oxygen Service

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she plans the changeover from pharmacists providing the home oxygen service to arrangements introduced by her Department in February to be complete.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 27 April 2006
	The national health service is updating plans for completing the transfer to new arrangements for the home oxygen service later this year. These plans include continuing delivery of a cylinder service by pharmacists until patients transfer to new suppliers. Patients come forward for further oxygen supplies at different times, depending on their individual needs but we expect new suppliers to have contacted most patients to confirm a start date for delivery of their oxygen supplies by the summer. However, a small number of patients, with infrequent use of oxygen therapy, may not come forward until later in the year at which point they will transfer to the new supplier. The changeover will be complete once all patients receiving oxygen therapy have transferred to new suppliers.

Hospital Patients (Telephone Calls)

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will announce the (a) membership and (b) terms of reference of the review group into the price of telephone calls to hospital patients.

Liam Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 6 April 2006.

Hospital Patients (Telephone Calls)

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to ensure that patients and their families are informed of the charges for the use of hospital telephones.

Liam Byrne: The bedside television and telephone systems are run by three major private providers and offer additional services for the patient. Patients and relatives who wish to use the services are made aware of the charges at the time they sign up to use the system and by literature posted around the hospital. Incoming callers to the bedside telephone are advised at the onset of the telephone call of the call charge to be levied by two of the providers operating the service.
	Hospital payphones and televisions in day rooms are available for patients who do not wish to use the service.

Hosptial Tariffs

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what comparative market forces factor is allowed within the tariff for each hospital in England.

Liam Byrne: The market forces factor adjustment for individual national health service trusts and foundation trusts has been published alongside the national tariff for 2006–07 and can be downloaded from the Department's website. A copy has been placed in the Library.

Independent Sector Treatment

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2006, Official Report, column 1670W, to the right hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Frank Dobson), on independent sector treatment, for what reasons the percentage cost per procedure above the NHS equivalent cost for 2004–05 provided in the answer differs from the figure provided in table 1.3.2 of her Department's written evidence to the Health Committee of 1 December 2005, HC 736-iii; and whether either of these figures includes the capital costs of the independent sector treatment centre programme.

Liam Byrne: The reply on 20 January 2006, Official Report, column 1670W, was the average percentage cost above the national health service equivalent cost of all independent sector treatment centres (ISTCs) in the first wave of the procurements. Across the full period of the wave one ISTC contracts, the average cost above the equivalent NHS cost is 11.2 per cent.
	The figures provided in the Department's written evidence in table 1.3.2 covered only those schemes that were operational, that is treating patients, during 2004–05: the facility at Daventry, the mobile cataract units, BUPA Redwood (this is a joint venture between the independent sector and the NHS) and the general supplementary contract for the provision of additional capacity using the incumbent independent sector. For those schemes only, the percentage cost was 6.2 per cent. below the equivalent NHS costs in 2004–05.
	All comparisons made between provider price and NHS equivalent cost take account of the capital costs of the programme.

McKinsey's

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent by (a) her Department and (b) strategic health authorities on (i) management consultants and (ii) contracts with McKinsey's in (A) 2002, (B) 2003, (C) 2004 and (D) so far in 2005.

Liam Byrne: The total cost external consultancy procured by the Department, where in-house resources were not available, is shown in table 1 following.
	
		Table 1
		
			  Amount (£000) 
		
		
			 2002–03 7,266 
			 2003–04 10,031 
			 2004–05 12,800 
			 2005–06(To date) (69)4,658 
		
	
	(69) The 2005–06 spending is lower because we have reviewed the data for this period and rectified miscoding of the category codes so that it represents the true expenditure on external consultants up to the 31 January 2006.
	The Department does not collect information that would allow for an analysis of the type of consultant engaged.
	The fees paid to McKinsey's in the last four financial years (to date) are shown in table 2 following.
	
		Table 2
		
			  Amount (£000) 
		
		
			 2002–03 0 
			 2003–04 0 
			 2004–05 240 
			 2005–06 (To date) 1,275 
		
	
	Information relating to the strategic health authority's expenditure on management consultants and with McKinsey's in particular is not held centrally.

Mental Health Services

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the funding made available in 2006–07 for mental health services covering the Sevenoaks constituency is, broken down by main cost area.

Caroline Flint: The requested information is not collected centrally. It is for primary care trusts in conjunction with strategic health authorities to decide on local delivery and planning of services.

Ministerial Visits

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the towns in (a) England and Wales, (b) Scotland and (c) the European Union that she has visited in an official capacity in each month since 1997; what the purpose was in each case; what the (i) date, (ii) time, (iii) location and (iv) duration was of each meeting; if she will place in the Library the text of any speech made; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Published speeches by my right hon. Friend are available on the Department's website at: www.dh.gov.uk/NewsHome/Speeches/fs/en.

NHS Audiologists

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Health how many NHS audiologists there arein Kingston upon Hull; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		National health service hospital and community health services: qualified audiology staff in the North and East Yorkshire and East Lincolnshire strategic health authority (SHA) area as at 30 September 2005
		
			  Headcount 
		
		
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire SHA 40 
			 Of which:  
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 14 
		
	
	Source:
	NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre, non-medical workforce census 2005.

NHS Hospital Food

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average (a) daily, (b) monthly and (c) annual expenditure on patient food was for NHS hospitals serving West Lancashire residents in the last year for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: Data on monthly expenditure on patient food is not collected centrally and details of annual expenditure on patient food service are only collected on a voluntary basis for national health service benchmarking purposes. However, data is collected on the average daily cost of feeding one patient and this information is shown in the following table.
	The daily cost of feeding one patient, is derived from the central estates return information collection, and is the average of the average daily expenditure on patient food per patient reported by trusts. These amounts include the gross cost of provisions and salary and non-salary costs involved in its preparation and serving.
	
		
			 Organisation Average daily cost of feeding one patient(£) 
		
		
			 Lancashire Care National Health Service Trust 6.83 
			 Mersey Care NHS Trust 6.00 
			 Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust 7.49 
			 West Lancashire Primary Care Trust (PCT) No data 
		
	
	Notes:
	The above data is based on that provided by NHS organisations to the Department and has not been amended centrally. The completeness and accuracy of this data is the responsibility of the provider organisations.

Nuffield Speech and Language Unit

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the funding of placements of children at the Nuffield speech and language unit in each of the last five years was from (a) local education authorities and (b) primary care trusts.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Nuffield Speech and Language Unit

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what discussions she has had with the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust about the future of the Nuffield speech and language unit;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of (a) the work undertaken and (b) the results achieved by the Nuffield speech and language unit.

Jane Kennedy: No discussions have been held between Ministers and the Royal Free Hampstead national health service trust about the future of the Nuffield speech and language unit. It is for the local NHS to make assessments on the work undertaken and results achieved in services provided for the local community, as this is where knowledge and expertise lie. However, my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Community Care (Liam Byrne) held a discussion with the hon. Member during a debate on this matter held on 25 April.

Obesity

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice her Department gives to GPs about the use of the register of obese patients they are required to establish under the provisions of the new General Medical Services Contract; whether the advice includes promoting awareness of slimming on referral and participation in programmes operated by commercial slimming organisations; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The new quality and outcomes framework for 2006–07 includes an indicator which rewards practices for maintaining an obesity register. The recording of body mass index for the register will take place in the practice as part of routine care. It is part of normal routine clinical practice for general practitioners to provide advice to patients who are identified as obese.

Parliamentary Questions

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make it her policy when placing material in the Library of the House in response to a parliamentary question to supply a copy of the material to the hon. Member who tabled the question; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: It has been our practice to send a copy to the hon. Member asking the question.

Primary Care Trusts

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money had been committed by each primary care trust to purchasing private services at the end of December 2005; and how much has been budgeted by each primary care trust for such activity for the financial year 2005–06.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her Department's employer contribution rates to the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme are; what assumed rate of return underlies those contribution rates; and what the contribution rate would be if the assumed rate of return was in line with current redemption yield on index-linked gilts.

Liam Byrne: As the hon. Gentleman is aware the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme is overseen by the Cabinet Office. It is therefore appropriate, in this instance, that the Cabinet Office respond to him directly. He should have received a reply from them in response to his questions.

Public Involvement (Health)

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects (a) to publish (i) the recommendations of the expert panel on the future of patient and public involvement in health and (ii) the evidence submitted to the expert panel and (b) to announce her Department's decision on the future structures for patient and public involvement in health.

Rosie Winterton: The expert panel which is considering patient and public involvement in health, reported to Ministers in the Department at the end of April 2006. Ministers are considering the recommendations and will announce the Department's decision on the future structures for patient and public involvement shortly. The panel's report and the evidence submitted to the panel will be published at the same time as this announcement.

Pulmonary Hypertension

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have died from pulmonary hypertension while on the NHS waiting list for a heart and lung transplant in England in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Liam Byrne: The number of people who died each year waiting for a suitable organ to come available for transplant as treatment for pulmonary hypertension is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Donor organ awaited 2001 2002 2004 2004 2005 Total 
		
		
			 Heart and lung 5 3 3 4 3 18 
			 Lung only 1 1 — 1 2 5 
			 Total 6 4 3 5 5 23

Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total expenditure of the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust was in each year between (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2005–06.

Jane Kennedy: The table shows data from 2001–02 to 2004–05, which is the latest year for which information is available.
	Figures given are the total operating expenses of the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust for each of the relevant years. Figures for 2005–06 cannot be supplied; they will be available in the autumn.
	
		Total operating expenses of the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust  -- £000
		
			  Amount 
		
		
			 2001–02 238,223 
			 2002–03 265,071 
			 2003–04 296,023 
			 2004–05 342,330

Salt Intake

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what analysis her Department conducted of the food industry's objections to the Food Standards Agency's proposed target salt levels as set out in their consultation document of August 2005.

Caroline Flint: As part of its normal consultation process, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) compiled and reviewed the comments of all respondents to the salt targets consultation, a summary of which is published on the FSA's website at www.salt.gov.uk/index.shtml.
	The FSA analysed industry objections to targets for specific food categories in light of a wide range of information including:
	technical, food safety and quality limitations;
	advice from independent food technologists;
	the levels of salt reductions already made in specific foods, and those necessary to enable consumers to meet dietary intake targets.
	Comments and evidence gathered from all aspects of the FSA's stakeholder consultations were used to inform the FSA's decisions on final targets.

Section 64 Funding

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what her Department's policy is on funding under section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 for 2006 to 2008;
	(2)  whether successful candidates for section 64 funding have been selected for 2006 to 2008.

Liam Byrne: Decisions on applications for awards in 2006–07 are currently under consideration and organisations will be informed as soon as this process is complete. During 2006–07 a review of department of health funding for the third sector will take place and an announcement on funding for 2007–08, which will include information on section 64 General Scheme of Grants will soon be made.

Sexual Health

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what level of expenditure will be committed to support the (a) improvements to sexual health services announced by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health on 20 July, (b) bowel cancer screening programme announced by the Minister of State for Health Services on 2 August and (c) announcement of extra support for research into incurable diseases announced by the Minister of State for Quality and Patient Safety on 2 December; how much expenditure there has been on each; and whether the expenditure is financed from the Centrally Funded Initiatives and Services and Special Allocations budget of her Department in each case.

Liam Byrne: On 20 July 2005, my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Caroline Flint) announced an additional £15 million capital funding to make improvements to genitourinary medicine services. The funding was allocated to strategic health authorities last September.
	The Government have stated their commitment to a national bowel cancer screening programme, for which funding has been agreed. On 30 January 2006, the new Health White Paper, Our Health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services", reaffirmed that the programme will be rolled out from April 2006.
	The statement made by the Minister of State, Department of Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Jane Kennedy) on 2 December 2005 was part of the overall United Kingdom Government response to the UK stem cell initiative report. This included a number of commitments over the next decade from the Government Departments and the research councils. The Department fully intends to meet a commitment to provide an additional £100 million for national health service research and development compared with 2003–04 levels and the eligible service support costs of clinical stem cell research within the NHS.

Sexual Health

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the provision of sexual health services in Kingston-upon-Hull North.

Caroline Flint: It is for strategic health authorities and primary care trusts to determine how services are provided within their area.
	I am advised that sexual health services in Hull operate using a hub and spoke model, with Conifer House in the city centre as the main centre and clinics held across the city and the East Riding. The services sees approximately 3,000 patients per month.
	Data for 2004 for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, contraception and abortion are available from the following websites:
	Health Protection Agency
	www.hpa.org.uk/hpa/publications/hiv_sti_2005/pdf/MtI_FC_report.pdf
	NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/contraceng2005/sb0506.pdf/file
	Department for Health
	www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/11/75/74/04117574.pdf

Southport and Ormskirk Hospital Trust

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the major capital investment projects at Southport and Ormskirk Hospital Trust approved by the Department of Health since 1997.

Liam Byrne: There have been a number of major capital schemes at the Southport and Ormskirk Hospital National Health Service Trust since 1997. However, as none of these schemes fell beyond the relevant delegated limits, approval was granted by the relevant local NHS organisation rather than by the Department.

Stillbirths

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) financial assistance and (b) support is available for mothers who deliver a stillborn baby.

Liam Byrne: Mothers who deliver a stillborn baby after the start of the 25th week of pregnancy are entitled to receive statutory maternity pay. In certain circumstances, financial help is available from the Social Fund to cover funeral costs. To receive such a funeral payment, parents must meet certain eligibility criteria.
	It is for individual national health service trusts to ensure there are appropriate support services for mothers who deliver a stillborn baby locally. Such support is likely to include an appointment with the consultant to discuss what is known about the reason for the baby's death, and bereavement counselling. The hospital may also offer to arrange the burial or cremation free of charge.

Stoma Appliances

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 27 March 2006, Official Report, column 807W, to the hon. Member for Tewkesbury (Mr. Robertson) on stoma appliances, on what date her Department expects to (a) publish a summary of responses and (b) respond to the consultation on the provision of stoma appliances and other services.

Jane Kennedy: It is anticipated that a summary of responses to the consultation will be published shortly.
	The Department will be having further discussions regarding incontinence and stoma appliances in order to identify how best to achieve transparency between item price and service costs. The Department will also explore with industry how to ensure that those contractors that provide valued services are fairly remunerated for the services they provide.
	We will be arranging a series of meetings with patient groups, the national health service and providers in order to accomplish this.
	In relation to reagents and dressings it is planned to consult again with the market. This consultation will cover a sub-set of dressings and a sub-set of reagents in part IX of the Drug Tariff.

Trust Spending (Gloucestershire)

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much each health trust operating within Gloucestershire spent in each year since 1997 in (a) cash and (b) real terms.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 27 April 2006
	Operating expenses of national health service trusts in Gloucestershire, both in cash terms and in real terms at 2004–05 prices are shown in the table.
	
		£000
		
			 NHS trust name 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Gloucestershire Ambulance 
			 Cash 7,334 7,564 8,079 8,593 9,218 10,241 11,197 15,015 
			 Real 8,611 8,656 9,067 9,519 9,965 10,730 11,431 15,015 
			  
			 East Gloucestershire 
			 Cash 92,376 98,573 109,849 118,831 130,409 — — — 
			 Real 108,454 112,803 123,282 131,638 140,983 — — — 
			  
			 Gloucestershire Royal 
			 Cash 74,672 80,057 98,626 98,040 107,515 — — — 
			 Real 87,669 91,614 110,686 108,606 116,232 — — — 
			  
			 Severn 
			 Cash 50,812 53,334 57,457 60,977 67,646 — — — 
			 Real 59,656 61,033 64,483 67,549 73,131 — — — 
			  
			 Gloucestershire Partnership 
			 Cash — — — — — 65,199 70,459 76,740 
			 Real — — — — — 68,314 71,931 76,740 
			  
			 Gloucestershire Hospitals 
			 Cash — — — — — 237,018 253,914 72,893 
			 Real — — — — — 248,342 259,218 72,893

TGN1412

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions she has held with the North West London Hospitals NHS Trust on the recovery of the costs of care from (a) Parexel and (b) TeGenero for the treatment of those patients who suffered an adverse reaction to the treatment TGN1412.

Jane Kennedy: No discussions have been held between Ministers and the North West London Hospitals national health services Trust on the recovery of the costs of care from Parexel and Tegenero for the treatment of those patients who suffered an adverse reaction to the treatment TGN1412.

Vaccines

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether purchasing of vaccines recommended for use by the NHS is carried out (a) centrally and (b) by individual primary care trusts.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 25 April 2006
	Vaccines which are purchased centrally and by individual primary care trusts are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Vaccine Purchased 
		
		
			 Anthrax vaccine Centrally 
			 Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine Centrally 
			 Diphtheria vaccines (combined with either Tetanus, Pertussis, Polio or Hib) Centrally 
			 Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine Centrally 
			 Meningococcal vaccine Centrally 
			 Smallpox vaccine Centrally 
			 Tick-borne encephalitis vaccine Direct from supplier 
			 Typhoid Direct from supplier 
			 Varicella Zoster vaccine (Chickenpox) Direct from supplier 
			 Yellow fever vaccine Direct from supplier 
			 Cholera vaccine Direct from supplier 
			 Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) vaccine Direct from supplier 
			 Hepatitis A vaccine Direct from supplier 
			 Hepatitis B vaccine Direct from supplier 
			 Pneumococcal vaccine Direct from supplier 
			 Influenza vaccine Direct from supplier, centrally bought contingency stock 
			 Rabies vaccine Direct from supplier for travel, centrally bought for occupational use

York Hospital

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many finished consultant episodes there were (a) in total and (b) in each specialty at York hospital in each year since 1996–97.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Count of finished consultant episodes by main specialty, provider of treatment = RCB York Health Services National Health Service Trust, NHS Hospitals England, 1996–97 to 2004–05
		
			 Main specialty code Main specialty description 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 & Not known — — — — — — — — 1,687 
			 100 General surgery 7,290 6,929 7,618 7,620 7,493 7,440 8,034 8,727 8,972 
			 101 Urology 4,390 4,319 4,441 4,432 4,860 4,719 4,817 5,345 5,326 
			 110 Trauma and orthopaedics 4,375 4,274 4,560 4,468 4,660 4,649 5,158 5,566 5,548 
			 120 Ear, nose and throat 2,211 1,833 2,134 2,166 2,193 2,301 2,050 2,041 2,075 
			 130 Ophthalmology 1,923 1,885 2,175 2,288 2,253 2,272 2,290 2,534 3,134 
			 140 Oral surgery 1,215 1,268 1,351 1,368 1,244 1,223 1,354 1,409 1,491 
			 141 Restorative dentistry 422 397 364 333 336 339 — — — 
			 160 Plastic surgery — — — — — — * — — 
			 170 Cardiothoracic surgery — — * — — — — — — 
			 180 Accident and emergency 1,361 731 460 134 — * 29 7 356 
			 190 Anaesthetics 1,174 2,345 2,469 2,292 1,906 1,918 1,882 1,879 1,900 
			 300 General medicine 10,604 10,961 11,592 12,002 12,888 14,076 15,561 16,536 18,003 
			 303 Haematology (clinical) 814 1,043 1,310 1,391 938 824 667 684 991 
			 330 Dermatology 132 113 170 148 127 103 75 62 49 
			 360 Genito-urinary medicine — * — — — — — * — 
			 370 Medical oncology — * * 126 348 269 190 165 166 
			 400 Neurology 441 409 404 397 429 510 520 670 508 
			 410 Rheumatology 290 351 318 265 190 184 172 256 233 
			 420 Paediatrics 3,291 3,321 3,741 4,168 3,908 4,158 4,124 4,651 4,898 
			 430 Geriatric medicine 4,311 4,561 5,254 5,021 5,216 5,448 6,160 7,756 9,316 
			 502 Gynaecology 13,572 13,471 13,257 9,306 9,312 9,463 9,310 9,738 10,664 
			 610 General practice with maternity function 201 125 493 1,737 1,648 1,359 1,581 1,631 — 
			 620 General practice other than maternity 519 522 480 437 411 370 — — — 
			 700 Mental handicap 76 42 38 40 35 46 — — — 
			 710 Mental illness 993 874 904 694 686 614 — — — 
			 711 Child and adolescent psychiatry 53 44 42 48 50 53 — — — 
			 715 Old age psychiatry 677 643 663 685 616 612 — — — 
			 800 Radiotherapy * — — — — — — — — 
			 810 Radiology — — * * — — * * — 
			 822 Chemical pathology 67 72 121 190 80 80 38 40 214 
			 824 Histopathology — — — * — — — — — 
			 Total  60,404 60,536 64,367 61,758 61,827 63,032 64,015 69,699 75,531 
		
	
	Notes:
	Finished consultant episode (FCE)
	A FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. The figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year.
	Ungrossed data
	Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data, that is the data is ungrossed.
	Low numbers
	Due to reasons of confidentiality, figures between 1 and 5 have been suppressed and replaced with *" (an asterisk).
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre.